Andy at Camp Pendleton

Anyone who knew Andy will smile when they think of him, in fact, they probably laugh out loud! Along with his over- sized heart, Andy also had an incredible sense of humor. He was known as the "morale officer" of his unit as he was the guy who took it upon himself to lift everyone's spirits. Good morale is almost as important as knowing how to shoot your weapon in the Corps and men like Andy, although they may not do things "by the book",  are the bedrock of their units.

 When Denis and I went to Chicago for the dedication of a memorial to those in the 2/24 who were killed in action in Iraq , we met more of the men who were with Andy on the last deployment. A young sergeant came up to me with a grin but also with tears in his eyes. He wanted to share a story with us, his experience with Andy. This sergeant was in charge of making sure that all the rooms were ready for inspection. He knocked on Andy's door. Andy told him to "come on in" and what greeted him made him stop dead in his tracks: Andy was sitting in a beach chair in his swim trunks with, of course, his shades on. The chair was on a beige shag rug, simulating sand, with a beach umbrella shading his Irish skin from the room's light fixture. Andy had a "drink" in a special cup in his hand and next to him on the wall was a poster of a "babe" in a bikini, completing his beach scene. He handed a "tiki" cup to the Sergeant and told him that he would need to have that designated cup in hand whenever he entered the room. The Sergeant, after taking it all in, accepted that "tiki" cup. He took one last, horrified gaze at what  Andy  had created, and said, "Dude, you are in so much trouble!" and then backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. The Sergeant, expected Andy to get reprimanded for what he had created, but he told us that Andy never got in trouble for his beach room.

I am sorry that I do not remember that Sergeant's name as this is one of the stories that I will never forget. It exemplifies Andy's spirit in the best possible way; uplifting others at his own expense although I know that Andy fed the joy in his soul by doing the little things, like sitting on a pretend beach with his friends.

I guess the moral to the story for me is that I need to do more for my friends and not self indulge.

Sheila

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"There is nothing to be unhappy about" ;-) Ace Nowacki