PDA

View Full Version : War mom remembers fallen son



thedrifter
11-07-07, 06:16 AM
11/07/2007
War mom remembers fallen son
BY KEVIN WOODRUFF , Wyoming County Press Examiner

Private First Class Gary Edward Hibbard was a member of Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, when he died in Quang Tin, South Vietnam, on Sept. 6, 1967 from multiple fragmentation wounds.
He attended Elk Lake High School, where he graduated in 1965, and furthered his studies at the University of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre Business School.

During the time between high school and his Marine enlistment, Gary also obtained his pilots license, his mother Ellen Marie Hibbard, of Dimock, recalled recently.

"Gary accomplished more in 21 years than most people accomplish in a lifetime," she said. "We were so very proud of him; he was a very motivated young man."

Fearing being drafted, Hibbard decided to join the Marines before the possibility even arose.

Hibbard joined the Marines because he thought they were the best branch of the service and he respected them, his mom said.

"Gary figured he might as well sign up and get it over with," she added. "He knew he was going to be drafted, so he signed up on his own."

Gary was sent to South Vietnam where he served with the India Company.

"He was committed to the Marines," Ellen Marie said. "He just thought they were the best."

Hibbard and his family communicated with one another by sending letters back and forth, but the letters eventually stopped coming.

"I knew that Gary had been killed," Ellen Marie said. "I didn't want to believe it, but I knew that it had happened."

The Hibbard family did not receive any word about Gary's death until three weeks after it had happened.

"Gary passed away on September sixth," she said. "Two Marines came knocking on my door on the twenty-first."

Ellen Marie said that even though her family still carries wounds with them from the loss, they are proud of Gary's commitment to serve his country.

Hibbard's funeral took place on Sept. 30, 1967, and he is buried in the Holy Name of Mary Cemetery in Montrose.

Ellie