Damn. And here I was, thinking he was some sort of superhuman that was invincible... My condolences to the family, and all Marines out there that have served/worked under or with him..
Met him briefly at the World of Wheels in NOLA, he was signing autographs, but taking the time to talk individually with people, answer questions, take photos (myself and another Marine buddy in headlocks under each arm), do moto push-ups with fans, and shout an up close, finger-pointing Drill Instructor challenge into the video camera of a JROTC student to take back to their high school. Very humble, down to Earth demeanor. Semper Fidelis!
Sad loss of a good man. I met him in Denver during the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference. He was signing his Glock pictures and speaking with people. I told him how much I valued his positive representing of our shooting sports and particularly the effort that he put into reaching out to our youth. He clearly enjoyed the discussion and I wound up with one of his challenge coins. (That was NOT the point of my comments. I am just pleased by anyone who pays this forward to the next generation.)
He was a class act and the world is a sadder place without him.
Full Metal Jacket was the closest depiction of 1970's Marine boot camp I have ever seen. The only problem I had was with the private possessing live rounds. There was no way anyone got any live rounds out of Edson Range at Camp Pendleton. Every round was counted out and every empty case was counted back in. If there was a discrepancy, every one stayed until that last empty case was found and the numbers matched.
My favorite scene. I experienced something similar to this.