The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HIGHWAY SIGN TO HONOR SERVICEMAN
Euclid native Larry Stapleton died of injuries sustained while serving in Vietnam
For the last 49 years, every Veterans Day has been especially hard for Marsha Stapleton.
The Boise, Idaho, resident grew up in Euclid and when she learned her brother, Larry, was severely burned in Vietnam in 1967, later dying, her family, and the entire community, shared the emotional devastation.
“Larry was my hero,” she said. “He was a kind, considerate, compassionate and an extremely respectable brother, and he believed in the sanctity of life. He believed it was his duty as an American to serve in the military.”
Stapleton died Aug. 4, 1967, at the Brooks Burn Clinic at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He succumbed to wounds resulting from his helicopter being shot down after receiving hostile fire on July 19 in Binh Dinh Province in South Vietnam. He was 20 years old.
For his service, the military honored Stapleton by giving him the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Vietnam Service Medal.
Now, the entire Euclid community and state of Ohio have officially recognized Stapleton by designating, in his honor, a portion of Interstate 90 between mile marker 182 and mile marker 185 as the “Army Specialist Lawrence George Stapleton Memorial Highway.”
“We are here today to honor a member of the Euclid community who served his community and country and paid the ultimate sacrifice, U.S. Army Specialist Lawrence ‘Larry’ Stapleton, who served to protect the freedoms and values we all hold so dear,” said Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail on Sept. 12 at Euclid City Hall. “Today, we recognize a young man who put the greater good ahead of his own, and was not able to come home to do the things he dreamed of as a boy growing up in Euclid.
“Army Specialist Stapleton was a son, a brother, a friend, a neighbor. He was a member of the Euclid community who joined the army and went to Vietnam to serve his country. Although long overdue, today we honor Army Specialist Stapleton’s sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of the Stapleton family and the sacrifice felt by a community of a life cut way too short but never forgotten.”
State Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, DRichmond Heights, who grew up in Euclid, echoed Holzheimer Gail’s comments, adding that Stapleton’s heroism should be recognized by everyone.
“Unlike today’s children who play (with) those video games, we went out and played army, because that’s what our dads did — they were heroes in our eyes and we wanted to be a hero just like them,” he said. “But not everyone gets to grow up to be hero. As we all know, not all heroes come back home, as living heroes, some come back in a different way.
“In Larry’s case in particular, he paid the ultimate sacrifice, and for that we are eternally grateful not only to Larry but to his entire family. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one, especially in a conflict like that, one that created so many vivid memories for so many people.
“It was a very difficult time,” he said.
“Vietnam veterans didn’t return home to the same flag-waving crowds like the heroes in World War II. But they gave their lives so we can have the freedoms we have today. He may be gone, but he is not forgotten.”
Marsha Stapleton lauded state and local officials in addition to longtime family friends, namely Jack Walters and Marty Kilroy, all of whom, she said, brought her brother’s highway memorial to fruition.
“I want to thank everyone, you have no idea how this makes me feel. Larry was my very best friend and my confidante. He could always make me laugh. He took his basic training at Fort Benning (in Georgia) and was part of the chemical warfare division. He had one month’s leave before he had to travel to San Francisco and fly to Vietnam. I was truly blessed because he spent almost the whole month with me. His love and kindness were paramount.
“For some reason, after 50 years (since his death), I just thought, ‘I can’t take it one more time.’ Two weeks later, I got Marty Kilroy’s Facebook notice asking if I was the Marsha Stapleton who lived on 208th Street. I was brave, contacted him and now look what Marty and God has given us.”
“Army Specialist Stapleton was a son, a brother, a friend, a neighbor .” — Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail