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Heavy Heart

It is with a heavy heart that I report that LCpl Matthew R. Barnes, while serving with 2/6 in Iraq was killed in combat when his Humvee was crashed into with a car loaded with explosives. LCpl Barnes grew up and enlisted in the Corps in West Monroe, Louisiana. LCpl Barnes was a true warrior and was proud to serve his God, Country and Corps.

I had received an email from him on the morning of 2/14/06 (Valentines Day). His emails always started with OOORAH as the subject. I answered his email immediately only to find out later that day that he had been killed in action.

Lance Corporal Barnes received a Hero’s burial in his home town with full honors.

As a Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant (63-83, Nam 65-66, recalled to active duty in Feb90 for Desert Storm) I am so very proud of today’s Marines like LCpl Barnes, the finest of days gone by are well represented by today’s MARINES. The Esprit d’ Corps still runs through all who wear the Marine Uniform.

Also a member of Gideon’s International, I am proud to say that over 200 Bibles were donated in LCpl Barnes Honor/Memory. Placed in a Hotel/Motel somewhere in the traffic lanes of life, these Bibles have the potential of touching over 400,000 lives, so LCpl Barnes testimony as a Christian Warrior will continue for many years to come.

Sgt Grit, as a fellow Marine of your era, I just want to thank you for your forum for Marines to speak. I use and wear many items from your catalog and look forward to your newsletters (I stop all activity until each one is read to the end).

Semper Fi, GySgt Donald R. Price, USMC Retired

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Comments

Paul Lindner - April 1, 2020

It is always sad when a fellow Marine dies. I have been trying for a long time, since last year, to get a letter published about the death of a Marine many of us came to know through his many stories published here over the years. I don’t know if the new regime here at Grit felt that it was not noteworthy enough to publish, or what, but I submitted the letter twice, and it has never been published. I know that many would want to know of his passing, so I am entering the original letter here that I submitted last year.
It is my sad duty to inform the many readers of his stories over the years, that GySgt Frank Rousseau has passed away. He was a 3-war Marine, but I knew him as a Bermuda marine. We all enjoyed his stories and recollections over the years. He was
a weapons expert, and what most people don’t know is that after retiring from the Corps, Frank started a very successful
business supplying Hollywood with weapons, many of which he designed and built himself, including the rifle that Chuck Norris used in his “Braddock” movies. Also, in “Rambo 2”, he designed the machine gun used in the helicopter scene where Rambo and
the POW’s he rescued are abandoned by the rescue helicopter. Frank told me that nobody in the cast could handle the gun, so he fired it himself. He can be seen in the door of the helicopter firing the gun. His business was carried on by his son Chuck. If you take the time to watch all the credits at the end of “Rambo”, “Missing in Action”, and other films, you will see his name listed as
“weapons consultant”. If there are ever any weapons required behind the Pearly Gates, you can be sure Frank will handle it.
Cpl. Paul W. Lindner 1959-1963

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