thedrifter
11-07-07, 07:06 AM
11/07/2007
Cron proud of service
BY NATHAN MILNER , Wyoming County Press Examiner
Marine PFC Jody Cron of Nicholson was killed March 19, 1968, at Quang Tri, Vietnam, leaving behind eight brothers and sisters and one lasting legacy.
"He was a wonderful man," said his sister, Emily Merrigan.
Jody, a rifleman in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, was less than a month away from his 19th birthday when he was killed. Jody's older brother, LaRue, said he was told that Jody died jumping on a hand grenade to protect his fellow soldiers.
He attended Lackawanna Trail High School and worked at Allison's 66 Service Station in Tunkhannock - where Ace-Robbins is located today - before joining the Marine Corps. He received basic training at Parris Island, S.C., and left for duty in Vietnam in December of 1967.
"He had a lot of spunk," his sister Sylvia Flesher said, while LaRue put it a bit differently: "He was wild."
Jody enlisted to serve his country when he turned 18. LaRue, 19 at the time, said it was troubling to see his brother preparing to go off to war. "We weren't just brothers," LaRue said; "we were best friends."
Sylvia, 13 at the time, vividly recalls the day her brother took their mother and sisters aside to tell them that he had enlisted in the Marines. "It was difficult but it was something he wanted to do so you accept it and pray for the best," Emily said.
Each of his siblings agreed that Jody felt it was his duty and was proud to serve his country. Said Emily, "It was something he had in his heart he wanted to do."
Jody wrote home frequently during his time in Vietnam. LaRue recalled letters in which Jody said he had to write by the light of the moon. Sylvia remembered Jody writing that "bullets were whizzing over his head" and that he had recently seen his best friend killed. "He was scared," Sylvia said. But regardless of what he was feeling, Jody, in his last letter home before he was killed, wrote urging his mother to "keep her head high."
LaRue has not had an opportunity to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, though Sylvia has and said, "It was wonderful." Emily saw a replica of the wall brought, on traveling display, to Chinchilla in the late 1980s.
"Until I saw his name on the wall I never really felt like he was gone," Emily said. "Something in me didn't want to believe."
In all, Jody's brothers and sisters include LaRue, Harry, Oliver Jr., Jeanne, Patricia, Emily, Robin, Sylvia and Marion (deceased). Jody's brother and sisters are very proud of the way he lived his life and his service to our country.
"I'm so proud of him," said Emily. "I just wish he was here so I could tell him."
Cron proud of service
BY NATHAN MILNER , Wyoming County Press Examiner
Marine PFC Jody Cron of Nicholson was killed March 19, 1968, at Quang Tri, Vietnam, leaving behind eight brothers and sisters and one lasting legacy.
"He was a wonderful man," said his sister, Emily Merrigan.
Jody, a rifleman in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, was less than a month away from his 19th birthday when he was killed. Jody's older brother, LaRue, said he was told that Jody died jumping on a hand grenade to protect his fellow soldiers.
He attended Lackawanna Trail High School and worked at Allison's 66 Service Station in Tunkhannock - where Ace-Robbins is located today - before joining the Marine Corps. He received basic training at Parris Island, S.C., and left for duty in Vietnam in December of 1967.
"He had a lot of spunk," his sister Sylvia Flesher said, while LaRue put it a bit differently: "He was wild."
Jody enlisted to serve his country when he turned 18. LaRue, 19 at the time, said it was troubling to see his brother preparing to go off to war. "We weren't just brothers," LaRue said; "we were best friends."
Sylvia, 13 at the time, vividly recalls the day her brother took their mother and sisters aside to tell them that he had enlisted in the Marines. "It was difficult but it was something he wanted to do so you accept it and pray for the best," Emily said.
Each of his siblings agreed that Jody felt it was his duty and was proud to serve his country. Said Emily, "It was something he had in his heart he wanted to do."
Jody wrote home frequently during his time in Vietnam. LaRue recalled letters in which Jody said he had to write by the light of the moon. Sylvia remembered Jody writing that "bullets were whizzing over his head" and that he had recently seen his best friend killed. "He was scared," Sylvia said. But regardless of what he was feeling, Jody, in his last letter home before he was killed, wrote urging his mother to "keep her head high."
LaRue has not had an opportunity to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, though Sylvia has and said, "It was wonderful." Emily saw a replica of the wall brought, on traveling display, to Chinchilla in the late 1980s.
"Until I saw his name on the wall I never really felt like he was gone," Emily said. "Something in me didn't want to believe."
In all, Jody's brothers and sisters include LaRue, Harry, Oliver Jr., Jeanne, Patricia, Emily, Robin, Sylvia and Marion (deceased). Jody's brother and sisters are very proud of the way he lived his life and his service to our country.
"I'm so proud of him," said Emily. "I just wish he was here so I could tell him."