Howard Wayne Mathews

How can you reduce a man’s life down to a few words, or even a few thousand words? A life that spanned eighty years, four children, nine grandchildren, and at least eight great grandchildren, that included serving his country in Korea, in some of the most formidable conditions seen there for more than one hundred years, thirty to forty degrees below zero; and directly in the path of the entire Chinese Army. Dad acquitted himself well, directed his fire team in an ordered withdrawal, saving lives and equipment. The “ Frozen Chosen” as they were called, are legendary, but dad would not even talk about it. If you would like to know the kind of hell they went through, I would direct you to search out his unit history, 5th Marines, 1st Regiment, Artillery Battery. You will be amazed.

As a father, he was outstanding. Firm, but fair; always a shining example for his sons (and daughter), and was always encouraging in whatever we wanted to do. There were six of us and we always had a really great Christmas. It was many years later I found out how they did it on such small salaries. They took out loans using our furniture as collateral each year in October then spent the next nine months paying back the loan, only to re-borrow again for the next holiday season. Just one example of his and mom’s sacrifices. Today, I shake my head when I think about all the things I “needed” for school and the activities; band instruments, summer camps, band jacket, and class ring. They never once said they couldn’t afford it, they just went out and found the money. I never knew at the time we were underfinanced.

As a man, I admired him, as a friend I cherished him, and of course, as my dad I loved him. We will all miss him terribly. I will miss our visits to his favorite restaurant for meals together, talking for hours about everything under the sun, cracking jokes with each other.

A man will miss his mother when she passes, but when he loses his father, something deeper happens. A passing of the torch, so to speak. I don’t really feel differently yet, but I’m sure it will hit me soon. We all have stories about dad. We will miss him. There is a gaping hole now in our lives with his passing and we shall never see his like again. Marine, Son, Husband, Father, Mom, Friend, Confidant, Advisor, Banker, and finally a buddy; I will miss him so much.

As I said on my Facebook page, God has called another Marine to guard the streets of Heaven. Dad, keep an eye out for us until we join you someday. I love you. We all love you. Rest in peace.

Written by: Son, Roger Mathews