DEATH OF AN OLD VIETNAM MARINE is an appeal for burial financial assistance to help bury our brother Wilbur Fletcher. Originally this page was soliciting for teeth for Wilbur when he was alive.  However, Will sadly recently passed away at the age of 76 Saturday February 15, 2025 before he could get the teeth he wanted. For those of you who did not read the biography on Will when we were soliciting for teeth for him, please read below just to give you a personal interaction with his story -- it is a very true and interesting story! 

In 1966, at the age of 17 Will entered into the United States Marine Corp and fought and built roads in Vietnam as a heavy equipment operator.  Growing up we were 5 boys in the home. We were brought up in a God-fearing Christian home, children of missionary parents from Jamaica and Guatemala. Wilbur was always one who loved helping people and literally and quite often he would give his absolute last to help someone else -- this was ingrained in us by our missionary parents.  Although he didn't know the right and wrong and the agenda of the Vietnam War, he felt it was his God given duty to help his country and so at the tender age of 17 he joined the U.S. Marine Corp and fought and worked faithfully for 3 tours of 3 years.  Will had two brothers who also served in the military  -- his brother Handel served in the U.S. Army Missile 57th Air Defense Artillery and Will's baby brother Wayne followed in his big brother's footsteps as a "Proud Marine".  Will was always very proud of his Marine Corp service and all his fellow brothers in all branches of the services and always spoke very highly of them ... especially the ones who laid down their lives right next to him on the field in Vietnam. He was commended for his bravery in the midst of situations and battles were he saw many of his close comrades die all around him.  Just some of the stories he told me of what happened causes me to tremble and wonder if I would have had the same courage he had to be so Brave in the face of life and death battles!  And yes he had PTSD from the agent orange spraying and the psychological resulting effects it caused, along with many of his comrades dying everyday all around him, it did leave upon him a great scar that will be there till God calls him to sleep (which God has now called him to sleep as of this writing).  Through the years, I always have monitored and helped Will to manage things because of his war related struggles that made it difficult for him to do some things.  I would like to share with you a couple amazing real life experiences Will had that would make most people faint for fear! 

 Will was building a road in Vietnam.  He was assigned his own special Monster Tractor with Wheels as tall as a 6 foot man.  Will painted and took care of that tractor so nicely that even his superiors commended him on the way he took care of his Big Tractor both in looks and mechanically (by the way he was always an ace mechanic from about 15 years old).  Well one day Will was constructing a road with the Big Green Marine Core Giant (his personally assigned tractor) when he hit a mine and the explosion was so terrific that it's only a miracle of God that he still lived ...They found Will knocked out cold, teeth damaged after slamming into the heavy steel dash of the tractor and barely clinging to life -- but God saved him!  And just so you know what kind of person you would be helping ... please allow me to tell you another experience that Will has told me so may times throughout the years -- a story that reveals the kind of caring person that he was...

At about 18 years old, because of his leadership skills and christian upbringing his superiors recognized immediately that this kid had something very unique and special as a leader even though he was so young.  So they gave him his own squad and they sent him out to do some investigation to see where the Vietcong  were located before he and the other engineers could begin building roads. His squad encountered a terrible attack and though greatly outnumbered, with extremely great difficulty they were able to escape with a few casualties. His superiors were impressed at how he was able to save most of his squad! However, sadly one of the few casualties they sustained was the oldest guy in the squad who they called "Pappy". 

By the way --- Pappy was only 29 years old --- but compared to Will and the others who were barely "kids" of 17, 18 and 19 --- at 29 years old they nicknamed the oldest guy in the squad Pappy.  During their heroic battle to escape, Pappy took a hit.  His body was practically cut in half by machine gun fire. Will, instead of panicking or losing his mind, went down to where Pappy was lying, and Pappy, still alive but bleeding severely, looked up at him and with a distant far away look in his eyes he said "Hey --- Will I've been hit!".  Will then picked up Pappy's broken body, walked behind the lines to the doctors and paramedics and said with tears in his eyes "hey Doc --- please put him together again -- please put him together again!"  The doctors with compassion looked at Will and said "hey kid" we're not GOD!  We can't do that! And so Pappy went to sleep in Will's arms!

Yes!  Whatever you find in your heart to contribute to a very worthy burial for this Old Marine would be a very Great Honor to every other Marine and Veteran and God will bless your heartfelt contribution in more ways than you can imagine!

With deep and warmest regards we thank you so kindly from the bottom of our hearts!  By the way the last words that Wilbur heard before God called him to sleep was the prayers of His brother Handel and his eldest dear sweet daughter Tamiko.

With sincere and humble love ... from all of Will's loved ones!

Forever yours in Christ!

 Just a side story:  If you notice the picture above, Will met this younger desert storm Marine Vet one day while walking in town, a perfect stranger, but when he noticed he was a Marine Vet,  Will made quick friends with him, talked with him kindly and gave him his usual life saving tips that he loved to share with police and veterans, and Will treated him like they were long lost friends inspite of their age difference...that was the old Marine Will! Always trying to make a friend for life!