In reading the responses that have been posted so far, I'm amazed at how many people's lives were touched by either Marty or the crash that took his life.

For over 30 years I have kept his memory locked carefully away - not even thinking there may be others out there who could also have been as affected as I was by both his life and his death. I'm so glad and so very proud that Mark has taken the initiative to put this memorial together - for all of us. He didn't even know Marty and yet has managed to bring so many of us to one spot where we can share - with each other and with him - what we knew about Marty - to help us all try to understand better who Marty was and what he was all about!

I hope we continue to hear from others - and to hear from friends & family of the entire crew of Gator 297!

I would like to share with everyone something Marty wrote in a letter dated 09 Sept.'68:

" I wish I could get more flying time. I thought I used to like just to fly, but there is nothing in the world like combat flying. Going into an LZ knowing Charlie is shooting at you for all he is worth and just cooling it, not getting rattled and almost laughing at him with your helicopter has got to be the greatest feeling in the world.

"You learn a lot about yourself in those few moments, too. I found that it didn't rattle me at all, as I was afraid it might. The more I do it, the more I like it. It's gotten so I look forward to going down where I know Charlie's just waiting. Everybody else in the flight thinks I'm crazy, but I don't know, maybe I am. But when it's bad weather and I know I've helped bring a bunch of people out of trouble right under Charlie's nose, it makes me feel pretty good, especially when I know Charlie has to stay out there in that lousy jungle.

" I still like it here. True, it's dirty and very unhealthy, but there are no hypocrites here or fakes or fence-sitters or liars.... "

That fateful flight wasn't even Marty's to take, but reading the above helps me to understand why he didn't hesitate to do it. He was doing what he loved to do more than anything in the world and accomplished what he wanted to do most in his life - fly. How many of us can say that about our own lives?