Staff Sgt. Raymond Weeks, USMC

Dad was born in 1920 and joined the Corps in October 1940 -- he told me he wanted to see China and a "China Marine" told him you could get laundry done for 5 cents. The Marines left China in November 1940, however. Dad stayed the course and graduated from boot camp on Dec. 24, 1940. He trained on the 30 cal MG in Cuba when it was a free country, and shipped out to the South Pacific with the 7th Marines in April 1942 to help build and defend locations in the South Pacific. He saw action on Guadalcanal, Cape Glouester and Peleliu.

He spent 32 months in the South Pacific before returning to U.S. soil. He left the Corps in January 1947 and went to live a full life and start a family. When I was kid he always attended and often marched in local Memorial Day parades. He passed away in 2006 at 86. Semper Fi Dad. Your son.