Gary Thomas Atkins, USMC/USAR

[BLUEHAWK]

GARY ATKINS













Melbourne, Australia

Gary Thomas Atkins, 63, passed away peacefully at about 11:30 am, Thursday, February 17, 2011 at Weusthoff Medical Center from complications after suffering a heart at tack some two weeks back.

During the course of his care, he was surrounded by and cared for by loving family and friends.

He is a marine, he was my father. Dad enlisted in the corps in Charleston, WV during the Vietnam war under protest as his brother Melvin Lee Atkins was serving in the United States Air Force stationed in Germany and the corps had issue that he might be the family's sole surviving son should harm come.

Dad loved the Marine Corps with every fiber of his being. He was a Marine in every essence. Dad never spoke much about Vietnam. He served three tours with the 2nd Marine Reconnaissance Battalion. During this time he was awarded for valor for running across 100 yards of open fire to rescue two downed pilots in an AE-4 Skyhawk that crashed at an airstrip his unit was guarding, opening the air craft and cutting free the two airmen from the burn ing plane. He placed one on his shoulder and drug the other behind and ran back across the firefight.

Both airmen survived. The airman on his shoulder took a bullet. They counted eight bullet holes in his uniform. He was not hit.

Dad also fought in the multi-day NVC raid at Khe Sahn. I recall him telling of how when it was all done, the troops gathered in the open and they stripped naked and fire hoses were turned on as it was the first shower theyd had in more than a week. On another occasion he was with marines in a bunker where a mortar landed but did not explode. He and all of the servicemen with him considered themselves lucky to be alive.

He was taken Prisoner of War twice. He was reported KIA multiple times. During the last time taken prisoner, he led an escape of multiple troops after an air strike hit the encampment in which they were being held. He led these troops through the jungle for several days, where-upon they eventually over took and captured an American patrol joking "take us back or kill us, were not staying in this jungle anymore". They were critically dehydrated and an infection caused him to lose most of his teeth. He kept fighting.

He received a field commission in Vietnam for his bravery, leadership, and devotion to the Marine Corps.

Upon returning stateside, dad joined AT&T climbing telephone poles and installing home service in Miami, FL. Eventually he moved to Melbourne, FL and over the next 25 years worked his way to management and mainframe computer technology with AT&T's network data systems.

His love of the military and its values prompted him to join the Army National Guard where for another several decades. He was with the 705th MP Company sta tioned out of Cocoa Beach, FL.The 705ths MOS was EPW, enemy prisoner of war, so they were one of the first units activated during the first gulf war.

Dad was stationed in Quwait and Iraq. His unit ran the massive POW camp for the Iraqis fleeing Saddam's evil empire for the dignity and security of American internment.

Everywhere he went, Sargent Atkins was immensely popular. He was well respected by his troops and known for his combat sensibility, irresistible barbecue, his interminable spirit, his intense love of barracks poker, the ladies, and the unbreakable bond he'd paid dearly for with American men and women in harms way.

He is survived by his wife, Melinda; daughter and son-in-law, Angela and Jason; his son, Jason; and grandchildren, Grayson and Charles (Jack-Jack).

Good night, Marine. May your boots enjoy a well-earned rest. We will always love you. Dad believed that life was meant to be lived with this, there will be no services. The family has requested that in lieu of gifts, please consider making a donation to the injured Marine Fund at: www.semperfifund.org.


Published in FLORIDA TODAY on February 21, 2011