WAUKESHA — "Semper Fi" was the final salute Jim Lopez gave to his fallen Marine friend Dennis Martin. Lopez trekked from Omaha, Nebraska, to visit Saint Joseph Cemetery where Martin is buried and described it as something that was on his bucket list.
It was right after high school when Lopez joined the Marine Corps boot camp because college wasn’t the right path for him. He had two brothers who he idolized that served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. Lopez found himself fighting in a different war — Vietnam — with Martin.
After he served in Twentynine Palms, California, Lopez was transferred to Okinawa with the Third Marine Division.
"That is where I met Dennis.
"We were there a short time. That was when the government, military, started sending troops down to Vietnam for the buildup," Lopez said.
They were one of the first units to travel from Okinawa to Vietnam with more troops sent there in small detachments. A tour of duty would last about 13 months.
"We (he and Dennis Martin) became good friends in a short time. Even today I can pull up his face and memories of him in an instant," he said.
He described his friend as having a broad smile and that he was just a super nice man.
It was supposed to be me
Lopez and Martin were tasked with guarding Da Nang Air Base, including at night.
"You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face," he said.
After you are "in country" for a certain length of time, which is about six months, you are allowed to leave the country for five days of rest and relaxation. Lopez’s time came up and he was told they were going to Hong Kong.
"I can still hear the voice in my ear today telling me not to go.
Every 10-15 seconds it was ‘don’t go.’ That’s all I could hear," he said.
Lopez told the proper channels that he didn’t want to go to Hong Kong. He was told they weren’t planning on going anywhere else and that he would be passed over for a break. Martin was nearby and overheard the conversation and offered to go in Lopez’s place.
"We joked about it because he didn’t really have any money. So, I had a few dollars saved, you know back then you made $78 a month. So, we found him a few dollars and he left," he said.
Five days later when Martin was to return, Lopez was talking with other friends who were surprised he didn’t hear the news.
On Aug. 24, 1965, a United States Marines Corps Lockheed KC-130F Hercules, that was taking a group of U.S. Marines back to South Vietnam from leave in Hong Kong, crashed on take-off.
Fifty-nine people died out of the 71 people on board.
"That should have been me. So, for nearly 60 years I’ve been living with that face. You know it was not my choice to go, but at the same time I lost a good friend," Lopez said.
This was the reason why visiting Martin’s grave was on Lopez’s bucket list. He found a picture of Martin with his hometown on it.
"I took a picture of it and made a shadow box and I have it in one of my rooms with memorabilia," he said.
Finding the grave
Lopez searched for Martin’s family which was difficult as Martin was unmarried and had no children when he died. He found one relative that didn’t really know Martin well. Martin has family buried in Saint Joseph Cemetery in SMÌìµØÂÛ̳.
Lopez traveled to the cemetery and was shown where Martin’s grave was located.
"A nice fella walked me to the grave and we found it. It was absolutely black from 59 years of dirt, rain, snow mud. You could hardly read his name," he said.
A head groundskeeper cleaned the gravesite and sent Lopez a picture of it. Lopez said he put a dime on Martin’s grave. The coins are meant to show a person stopped to pay their respects. A nickel on a grave, means they served in boot camp together. A dime means they both served in the military together. A quarter on a grave means they were there when the person died. Lopez put some other Marine Corps items on the grave and gave him a final salute before leaving.
"I’ve been able to keep his face in my mind for 59 years and to see his gravesite there, knowing that, you know it was his decision to go, it wasn’t mine, but you know still at the same time he was a good friend," Lopez said.
He explained how once you are in the Marine Corps, another Marine is like a brother.
"That is something that never leaves you," Lopez said.