I was sent this article by a friend who is an Airman in the U.S. Air Force and a Texas Tech graduate. Surprised he spotted it before anyone here, but not surprised he passed it on. Some things surpass petty rivalries.
Matthew Ryan Vandegrift, Class of 2003 was KIA in Iraq on Muster Day 2008.
Vadegrift High School in Austin is named in his honor.
The football coach was trying to build tradition for his new football team, and asked Matthew's parents if there was some keepsake of Matthew's that he could show his team.
His parents gave the team Matthew's Marine Corps Sabre.
Vandegrift Vipers have sharp reminder of the memory they play for
[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 10/15/2010 10:54p).]
Matthew Ryan Vandegrift, Class of 2003 was KIA in Iraq on Muster Day 2008.
Vadegrift High School in Austin is named in his honor.
The football coach was trying to build tradition for his new football team, and asked Matthew's parents if there was some keepsake of Matthew's that he could show his team.
His parents gave the team Matthew's Marine Corps Sabre.
Vandegrift Vipers have sharp reminder of the memory they play for
quote:
A few minutes before homecoming at Monroe Memorial Stadium, the Vandegrift Vipers touched their past.
Yuron Shears, a running back, drummed a gentle cadence on the cabinet his coaches placed on the track. Other players brushed their palms along the glass.
The long wooden case stood outside the football dressing room, arranged in such a manner that only the team could see its contents. But everyone present - the cheerleaders, the dance team, the drum line, the teachers and administrators, and the parents wearing Vandegrift black - knew what was inside.
"My son, in three years, could be where Matthew Vandegrift was when he died," Tim Prukop, the father of the Vipers' quarterback, said before the game.
"And I just can't imagine losing him," he said.
Far away, in a national cemetery near Denver, a Marine Corps officer from Austin lies buried without his sword. His marble marker reads: MATTHEW RYAN VANDEGRIFT, 1st LT, US MARINE CORPS, IRAQ KIA. It is noted that he died April 21, 2008, four days after he turned 28. That he received the Purple Heart. Nowhere on the stone is it mentioned that he wore No. 7 when he played for the Leander High School Lions.
Or what his silver sword and scabbard mean to a growing football team in the hills of Northwest Austin....
[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 10/15/2010 10:54p).]