Veteran's Day Remembrances: Honoring a World War II Marine

As Veteran's Day approaches, I am once again reminded of the uncle I never met.

Alonzo Austin Ford

From my earliest recollections, I always knew about Uncle Lonnie. My daddy's older, and only, brother had been born and raised in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. Eight years older than my father, daddy looked up to the one he called Bud. Uncle Lonnie was a mischievous sort who often enlisted the help of his cousin, Carmen Day, in an assortment of pranks.

Red headed, with an easy smile, Uncle Lonnie endeared himself to all who knew him. He loved his hometown in Kentucky, even pointing out a little spot, a rolling hill in the midst of the city cemetery, where he wanted to be laid to his final rest. It was the perfect place to see the sunrise, he would tell his mother, my Grandma Bea.

Military Service

By 1944, the United States was fully engaged in World War II, and Uncle Lonnie enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Uncle Lonnie proudly wore the title of Marine, Private First Class. He joined the First Marine Division and served on Peleliu Island. To comfort my Grandma Bea, he wrote home often.

Military Death

Unfortunately, Uncle Lonnie would not leave that island with his fellow comrades of the First Marine Division. He became one of the more than 6,500 Marine casualties of the Battle of Peleliu when, in October, a sniper's bullet would send him home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His remains would be buried in a South Pacific military cemetery.

Shortly after a Marine officer made that somber visit to my grandparent's home, a final letter came from Uncle Lonnie. In it, he told his mother that a U.S. Marine Corps military photographer had been with his unit, and his picture had been taken.

Military Memories

Grandma Bea ordered, literally, thousands of photographs from the military until she found that one, final shot of Uncle Lonnie. He was behind an embankment, firing a .30 caliber aircooled machine gun. Decades later, Cousin Carmen would come across that same picture in a book about the Marines on Peleliu and Okinawa, With The Old Breed. Uncle Lonnie and his dedication to country and his military service would be immortalized forever on page 67.

His zest for life and love of God sustained his family through their brokenness. It's that legacy that was passed to me, the niece born nearly 15 years after his valiant passing but raised to understand the importance of his life and death.

Military Honors

After the war, Uncle Lonnie's body was exhumed and sent home to Beaver Dam with full military honors.

While I wish my relationship with Uncle Lonnie had involved more than stories, old photographs, and the memories of others, I rest in the knowledge that he has since been reunited with his mother, father, and brother in the eternal presence and glory of God. And, I know I will yet meet him because of our mutual faith in Jesus Christ.

My gratitude is raised to all the brave military men and women, like my Uncle Lonnie, whose sacrifice and military service allow me and my children to live in the "land of the free." May we be reminded this Veteran's Day, and throughout the year, that freedom is not free.