Jan/Feb 2010 - Korean War Veterans Association

Korean War Veterans Gather to Salute Fallen C
By Lance Cpl. Benjamin Harris,
Headquarters Marine Corps
ARLINGTON, Va. — It’s been almost
55 years since the Marines of Company D,
2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, left
the Korean peninsula after cold days and
long nights of combat. In the years since,
those same Marines have gotten together,
holding reunions off and on.
Meeting this time for a more solemn
occasion, three Marines of “Dog
Company” came together at Arlington
National Cemetery Jan. 15 to pay their final
respects to their company commander,
retired Col. Alvin Mackin.
Mackin passed away Sept. 24, a week
after his 88th birthday.
The Cleveland native enlisted in the
Marine Corps Dec. 8, 1941, the day after
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After
completing boot camp at Marine Corps
Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Mackin
was selected for an officer program.
In World War II, he served as a navigator
in a B-25 Mitchell, and later served as
an infantry officer in the Korean War as
well as a regimental commander during the
Vietnam War, before retiring in 1972. His
awards included the Silver Star and the
Bronze Star with a combat distinguishing
device for valor.
His service in Korea, which has been
claimed as the “Forgotten War,” was what
the Marines in attendance remembered of
him.
“He was a breath of fresh air,” said Fred
Frankville, a former corporal who served
under Mackin. “That’s what he was.”
Mackin made sure the first day he came
to Dog Company that he shook the hand of
every Marine under his command, said
Frankville. In a time where Marines didn’t
know many people outside of their fire
teams, this made a big impression.
Frankville was so impressed that he had no
issue later serving as Mackin’s driver,
something he said he was honored to do.
This level of contact continued long
after Mackin moved on from the Marine
Corps. In 1980, he got in touch with some
of the Marines he served with in Korea,
suggesting that they meet up at a veteran
reunion the following year. Nine Marines
from Dog Company attended the meeting,
and a tradition was started. Mackin became
one of the founding members of the Dog
Seven Association, an organization dedicated
to finding the rest of the Marines who
served in the unit.
This was the same leadership the
Marines remembered him for in Korea.
Mackin had a habit of personally going out
and checking the route of a patrol before
sending his Marines, said Charles Curley,
who served as a sergeant with Mackin.
“Some people are leaders but don’t
48
Col. Andrew Smith (left), the commanding officer of Marine Barracks
Washington, leads a procession of Marines during a full-honors funeral for
retired Col. Alvin Mackin at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.,
Jan. 15, 2010. (Photo ByLine: Lance Cpl. Benjamin Harris)
Soldiers of the Caisson Platoon with the Old Guard guide the coffin bearing
the remains of retired Col. Alvin Mackin at Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington, Va., Jan. 15, 2010. (Photo ByLine: Lance Cpl. Benjamin Harris)
January – February 2010
The Graybeards