This is Malinda. I am a Daughter of theoldcoach. I am here to inform everyone that he passed away of natural causes two months ago. His heart just finally wore out. One of my brothers finally found his login information for several websites. Mom said that this was one of his favorites. As she is not very computer savvy, she asked me to give you all the news of his passing.
Dad was just short of 76 years old. He was a good man and a wonderful Father who taught us strong values and to manage our lives in such a way that we would be proud of our actions. One of his favorite sayings to my brothers and I was “Life isn’t fair. No one is going to give you anything. You have to earn your way in life.” It was a great lesson and although we sometimes failed, we have tried hard. Now I will tell you some things about the guy who posted here, that he probably never told you.
My Dad was a proud Marine. He served almost four years during the Vietnam Conflict with the 1st Battalion/9th Marines. They were known as The Walking Dead because during Vietnam they had the highest mortality rate in the history of the Corp, as they served mostly on or near the frontlines of any and all battles. For nearly all of Dad’s time in the country virtually all of it was spent in combat zones.
He was wounded twice. One minor and one seriously. His platoon was ambushed while on patrol near the Cambodian border. The loss rate was over 80% killed or wounded. Dad took shrapnel from a sniper bullet that struck the tree next to him, some of which remained in his body for the rest of his life. They were pinned down for nearly 8 hours until another platoon finally fought their way through to rescue the few remaining troops. He was awarded The Purple Heart.
He often wondered why he was spared while so many of his brothers in arms were lost. He said he never thought that he would ever make it out of that jungle. And he said that none of them did. He was proud of his service. But he was also haunted by it. The things that he saw and the things that he was forced to do in order to stay alive.
Some of the greatest time that my bothers and I spent with our Father was several years ago when he took Mom and us to visit Vietnam. He wanted to go back. He said, “I need to go back there. I just have to go back.” He hired a local guide to take us around. We couldn’t get back to the spot where they were ambushed as the jungle had reclaimed the land. But we could see that hill from a distance. At least he was quite sure it was the spot. The same was true for the locations of several of the firebases where he spent time. It was like they were never there. The jungle just takes over. About all that was still there was some remnants of Vanderbilt Air Base. It was all very emotional. He shed many tears that day for his friends who never came home alive. That day brought us very close to our Father. It was a difficult trip and Dad was never sure that he did the right thing by going. But I do believe that it left him with some sense of closure.
Dad was a lifelong conservative. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was an outstanding athlete in high school and had several scholarship offers in three sports. But Vietnam got in the way. He was an excellent golfer and played until his health would no longer allow it. Dad was very proud of us kids and no matter what he had to do, he never missed any of the events of our lives. He cherished our Mother and he loved her unconditionally.
Ok. That is enough and I’m sure more that he would have wanted me to tell you. But Mom wanted me to let you a little about the man that you communicated with here for several years. I will give the login information to both of my brothers and they may want to visit this forum too. I don’t know.
Anyway, thanks for your time and thanks for the enjoyment that you all gave my Father here during the last days of his life. By the way. His name was Bradley and he was an avid and lifelong Chiefs and Royals fan!
I never like reading these. May you be strong and blessed. Thank you for telling us about your father and I remember he was in his seventies and never acted like it. He was always kind and very young at heart. All the best to you, dear.
Condolences oldcoach family. I don't ever recall having interaction with him, but please stick around. CP, for having all of it's benefits and faults, is really sort of a family.
We endured years of Chiefs failure, only to finally get one of the greatest quarterbacks and teams in the league. I hope he and your family enjoyed the past few years as we have.
Thoughts and prayers, and thanks for his service. [Reply]
Sad to hear. I loved his posts. Thanks for sharing a bit of his life with us. Reading your post he did good in this life.
Condolences to the family. [Reply]
I didn't know theoldcoach that well and he had only been here for a few years. But from what I recall, I enjoyed his posts and he made good contributions to this forum.
He sounds like he was a great man. I'm sure many of us would have enjoyed getting to know him in person. And he raised children that turned into good people.
