25 Oct 2006 I can not express to you how much seeing Joe's name on that Wall changed me. I did not know Joe, but my mother did. When I was 9 I took a field trip to Washington D.C. with my class during Spring Break of 1988. When we got to the Wall that day the weather was really nasty, it was cold and there was a misty-rainy haze. When I turned the corner and got in front of the Wall I froze in my tracks. Names. Names were everywhere. It was unbelievable and I felt as if all those names were staring at me. Some lady who worked in the park asked me if I needed help finding a name and I told her yes. Together we found your Joe Macias's name and I just stood there and stared at it. I traced the letters of his name with my wet fingers and it changed me right then. I knew from then I had to serve this country, for what Joe and all these men on this Wall had done. It was truly life altering. Throughout my Marine Corps career I thought about that moment, and I often reflect on it now. I carried Joe's name on my helmet when I was in Kosovo in 1999. When asked why they joined the military people have many reasons but mine is simple. One rainy day in 1988, a Wall, and a man's name that I never knew who died for his country. I will meet Joe one day, and until that day may he know that he and the other names beside his are never forgotten. Many blessings to you and your family. Just someone paying respects, Sergeant Brad Perrin perrin0811@yahoo.com

 

26 Oct 2006 REMEMBERED by his niece, Benita Peavey Hardin kbhardin@academicplanet.com

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