Thegatewaynews.com - Two Navy Corpsmen honored

by Amanda Harnocz

Reporter

Tallmadge -- To pay tribute to two local servicemen killed during combat in 2007, a memorial was dedicated at Restland Cemetery in Brimfield Township Dec. 20.

The two FMF (Fleet Marine Force) Navy Corpsmen, or "Devil Docs" -- Luke Emch and Matt Conte -- were killed a month apart from each other while engaged in combat in Iraq in early 2007.

Matt, a resident of Streetsboro, was 22 when he was killed Feb. 1, 2007. Luke, a Brimfield resident who graduated from Tallmadge High School in 2004, was 21 when he was killed March 2, 2007.

About 75 people, as well a "leathernecks" and Patriot Guard Riders -- former Marine Corps motorcycle riders -- attended the dedication ceremony, according to Luke's father, Wes Emch.

"It was really nice, despite being very cold outside," he said.

Although Restland Cemetery is not the final resting place of either Conte or Emch (Emch is buried in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman), the memorial was erected at Restland because "this is home," according to Wes.

The Corpsmen's memory is still alive in many of the hearts and minds of local residents and very much a presence in their families' lives, he said.

Wes spoke during the dedication, as did the Rev. C. W. Whetsel of Victory Baptist Temple in Brimfield and District 43 State Rep. Stephen Dyer.

"Some things just strike a nerve," Wes said as he started to tell a story about his son. "Right after Luke was killed, I got a letter from a Marine who had been wounded in Vietnam and he told me about the Corpsman who saved his life."

While the man who wrote the letter did not know Luke, he told Wes since his experience in Vietnam, he often writes letters to the families of fallen military people.

"[The letter writer] told me the reason he was alive and has a family is because of the Navy Corpsmen," Wes said. "Corpsmen are truly like guardian angels."

Corpsmen aid and assist the injured and sick who are serving the United States.

The memorial has the Corpsman's Prayer engraved on the back and an etching of a Corpsman with angel wings helping a Marine.

The front of the memorial features the faces of both Matt and Luke, the dat5es of their births and deaths, the U.S. Navy seal and Corpsmen's emblem -- a winged caduceus, plus the following quote, attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "I like to see a man proud of the place in which he Lives. I like to see a man Live so that his place will be proud of him."

Wes and his wife, Julie, as well as Matt's mother, Gail Conte, paid for the memorial.

Wes and Julie designed the memorial and chose the Lincoln quote because, as Wes explained, "I made Luke a box filled with things from home to take with him when he left for Iraq. I burned that particular quote underneath the lid of the box."

The box, said Wes, "was filled with bags of dirt and pine needles, pictures ... things like that from home."

Wes said he often hears stories about his son's bravery while in Iraq.

"I just wish I could hear them from him," he said, choking back tears. "The last thing we talked about was that he received a medal from the Army."

Luke worked mainly on a U.S. Army base, which is why the medal was awarded by that branch of the military, said Wes, adding his son received other medals from the Navy, as well, including a Navy Corps accommodation patch with a combat "V" on it for valor, as well as a Purple Heart.

Wes said an officer in the Navy who worked with Luke said he'd never, in 15 years, seen a sailor receive a medal from the Army before.

Luke said he would show his family the medal when he got home, said Wes. "That's one of the hardest parts about it all."

E-mail: aharnocz@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3911