Salute to a Pawhuska Marine

Copyright (C) 2009 Stevie Joe Payne

Salute to a Marine

Many know that I keep a special place in my heart for Marines. I was in the navy myself, but that does not change my feeling for Marines. I acquired those feelings when I was a kid, and they have never left me or been altered much. I am proud of the Marines I have known, especially those from Pawhuska. There were two Marines at the top of my list and those were Gary and Jerry Malone, twin brothers from Pawhuska.

When I left Pawhuska, at seventeen, I did not leave with good feelings, and I felt down and unwanted, and I will use the word unloved, because that is how I felt. It is a long story and I won’t go into it but it is germane for one incident. The home port for my ship was Long Beach, California. One Saturday evening, I had been to a movie, eaten in a restaurant and my ship mates had gone off to a bar to have some drinks. I was too young and I could not go with them, so I was just walking the streets, spending some time at The Pike, the giant permanent amusement park in Long Beach, and killing time before I returned to my ship. I was feeling a little lonely when I decided to go across the street, into the doughnut shop and have a cup of coffee and a doughnut. It was very crowded and as I walked in, I heard someone call my name, my first name, which was not used in the navy. I was called either just Payne or Huck. When I looked around, I saw two young men in the uniform of the United States Marine Corps, young men from Pawhuska. All of the feelings I had had when I left Pawhuska suddenly surfaced, and I moved towards the door and ran outside, away from them. I had believed that no one from Pawhuska wanted to see me, and I was afraid that something was going to happen, so I ducked them. As I got outside and moved to a safe distance, I stopped and lit a cigarette as I looked down Ocean Boulevard. I was extremely nervous and uncertain what to do. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to find both Gary and Jerry standing before me, asking me why I had run from them. One of them said that they were afraid that I didn’t want to see them; nothing could have been further from the truth. They shook my hand, patted my back, spoke warmly and we had a great time as we talked about, well, everything. I felt so good after they had come out of the shop, sought me, and worried that I did not want to see them.
Every now and then I would see them in Long Beach and we always stopped and spoke. I was so proud of them and I admired them so much. They looked so good in the Marine uniform, yet it was hard to believe that they were two boys that I had known in high school, and two that I never expected to see in Marine uniforms.

Robert Gary Malone was taken from us many years ago, June, 28, 1966, just short of his twenty-third birthday, as a result of the Viet Nam War. Jerry worked for the post office many years in Bartlesville and I saw him often. Once in a while we talked about meeting in Long Beach, but it was a little hard for Jerry since the twins had been together then. When the moveable Viet Nam memorial wall came through Bartlesville, in 1995, I told Jerry that it was in Memorial Park. Later I learned that he did not go see it and I asked him why. He said it was just too hard for him, to see his brother’s name on the wall. I had photographed the moveable wall, Gary’s name, and it took me a while to do it, but I made an 8 ½ X 11 inch photograph of Gary’s name, and I gave it to Jerry. I gave him several copies, to share with his family, if he wanted. He asked me what he owed me for the photograph and I told him that it had been paid in full years ago. I’m not sure if he fully understood what I meant, but he accepted that, with thanks. But it is I who owe him thanks.

We have now lost Jerry Malone. He had experienced some heart problems over the years and he and I had talked about that some, at the post office. I looked for him Saturday, at the Pawhuska Centennial Celebration, as I wanted to show him something that I had written. I did not see him, and I learned that he was just not feeling good, so he did not go. The last time I saw him, he was wearing a Marine cap from the Viet Nam era, one that a citizen who learned he had been a Marine bought for him, somewhere, and just went in the post office and gave to him. He was really pleased to get it, and he wore it when it was called for. He was a good man, and I miss him, already. I would like to be tougher than I am, sometimes, but I will tell you that I wrote this with tears. This is what I wanted to show him, from my book Pawhuska Kids' Stuff:

“Robert Gary Malone is my hero for being a United States Marine. He didn’t have to make the ultimate sacrifice to be my hero, but he did. His brother Jerry is my hero for being a Marine.”

I had just purchased a new copy of the Marine Bible and I asked his widow, Nada, and his sister, Barbara, if I could place it in the casket. No one will ever see it but I took a moment and wrote a few things in the Bible, his name, his dates of service and his rank. And I probably wrote something very personal, a word of thanks, a word of farewell. He was a good man; he was a good marine.

Marines have always had a special place in my heart; Jerry Malone will always have a special place in my heart. I salute you Marine.

Stephen Joe Payne