Marine a leader to the end
Dad says his son "is now, and for eternity, a true American patriot and a hero."
By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published April 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Photos By Brian Lehmann / Special To The Rocky
John and Mary Jane Vandegrift follow the hearse carrying the body of their son Monday as it moves through the grounds of Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Mary Jane Vandegrift receives a flag at her son's funeral Monday. Marine 1st Lt. Matthew Ryan Vandegrift, 28, was killed while training Iraqi soldiers in Basra.
When he died, Marine 1st Lt. Matthew Ryan Vandegrift was doing what he always did: leading the way for everyone else.
"That's the kind of man he was," said his father, John "Dutch" Vandegrift, a former Marine himself.
On Monday, family and friends remembered the wild child who became a larger-than-life man, the little kid in the floppy-eared bunny suit who grew up to wear a military uniform with pride, as his father had before him.
Matthew Vandegrift had been 28 years old for exactly four days when a makeshift bomb exploded near his Humvee in Basra, Iraq, where he was part of a transition team training Iraqi soldiers. On Monday, he was buried with full honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
"For who he was and the sacrifice he made, he is now, and for eternity, a true American patriot and a hero," said his father, who last spoke to his son on Matthew's birthday, April 17.
Everything was fine then - slow, in fact. "I told him to be careful, which is what I always told him," he said.
But being careful never came naturally to Matthew, who enjoyed equally having fun and making mischief, family and friends said.
Growing up in Austin, Texas, he was the kid in the middle of the rock fight, the one who copied a James Bond move by yanking the emergency brake on a car rolling downhill.
And while Matthew sometimes whaled on his brother, Barrett, when they were younger, he was quick to defend him as well.
"He was never the guy to start the fight," said Barrett Vandegrift, 26, a helicopter pilot stationed at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne. "But he was always the one to finish it."
Smart, charismatic and outspoken, Matthew was a big guy with a big grin who knew how to make people laugh. He could do a great Elvis impersonation, excelled at video games and had an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and music.
But family and faith came before anything else for Matthew, who revered his father and adored his mother, Mary Jane. Friend Josh Payne said Matthew honored his father's request that he avoid alcohol until he was 21, despite the temptations that surrounded him at Texas A&M University.
"Matt always had balance," said his friend, Paul Saunders. "You could put him in the snow, you could put him in the lake, you could put him in a fight outnumbered 10 to one - and he was comfortable."
Matthew graduated in 2003 with a business degree and joined the Marines two years later. Deployed to Iraq in August, he believed in his mission, and he had become friends with many of the Iraqi soldiers he was training, his father said. But when asked recently whether the United States would succeed in Iraq, Matthew said he was unsure.
"He felt we could, and would, ignite a spark of freedom," Dutch Vandegrift said. "Whether the Iraqi people would fan it into a flame, he couldn't say."
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April 29, 2008
6:23 a.m.
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Firefox writes:
God bless you Matthew, and thank you.
Semper fidelis!
Fellow Marine.
April 29, 2008
6:44 a.m.
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mayday writes:
Thank you for your sacrifice Lieutenant. And to your parents, thanks for raising him the way you did.
April 29, 2008
7:42 a.m.
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ldandeg writes:
In an era where there is so much celebrity worship, god bless those that are the true heroes. The family and friends of Matthew should be truly proud. We should all be grateful for Matthew, the Marines, and all those who serve our country.
April 29, 2008
8:12 a.m.
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JSeifert writes:
Semper Fi Rest in peace brother.
April 29, 2008
8:29 a.m.
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AWM writes:
A true role model! Please rest in peace. And a heart felt thank you to the Vandegrift family for making the ultimate sacrafice for this country!
April 29, 2008
10:39 a.m.
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devildog writes:
Semper Fi Devil Dog, Thank you for your sacrifice. Be assured all he will be guarding those pearly gates.
April 29, 2008
10:31 p.m.
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rholderotte writes:
I extend my deepest condolences to the entire Vandegrift family. Your son was more than a hero. He was an incredible son, friend and brother. Your loss is also our loss.
Semper Fi