A Tribute To Jimmy

Our father died in 1976 and eventually our mother remarried and moved our family to New Castle, PA. That's where Jimmy joined the U.S.Marine Corps, right after he graduated from Shenango High School in 1980. He wanted to be a Marine for as long as I could remember.

I made the trip to Parris Island to watch Jimmy graduate. I was so glad I did. When I saw him parade by, I felt so proud of him, for he was "one of the few, the proud..."

I remember the times when Jimmy came home on leave. Sometimes he would bring his Marine friends with him and we'd all go out together. I no longer felt like his brother. I was his friend.

Jim sent me a letter (I was in the US Army stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma) saying that he had orders to go to Beirut, Lebanon in May of 1983. He looked forward to going. Me...I had no idea what was going on over there at the time.

In Jimmy's last letter to me, around the beginning of September 1983, he told me of the shootings, the grenades hitting close to the bunker, and that he thought he might have actually killed a man (which bothered him). I was worried but he had already been there 4 months and was due to rotate out in November.

On September 23, 1983 Jimmy turned 21 years old.

In the early morning hours of October 23, 1983, a suicidal terrorist maniac drove a truck loaded with explosives into the compound. It exploded on impact. Over 240 U.S.Marines were murdered, including my brother, James McDonough.

It took me awhile, but I finally made it home for the funeral. I thought it very dignified for Jimmy to have an escort home; Sgt. Brent Waters. It is said that Jimmy had the longest funeral procession that New Castle has ever seen, estimated at 600 cars. We had 3 full guestbooks signed at the funeral home.

Before they laid Jimmy to his final rest, I stepped to the coffin and gave my best military salute in my Class A dress uniform.

I think of Jimmy often and wonder how it would be today if he would have made it home that November. He is dearly missed and I take comfort in the fact that I will see him again...someday.