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U.S. Marines Killed in WWII, Vietnam Are Saluted on Jacob Street

By ERIC AYRES 5 min read

WHEELING -- Two U.S. Marines from Wheeling who were killed in action while serving their country during different wars were honored Thursday during military banner dedication ceremonies on Jacob Street in South Wheeling.

City officials, representatives of local veterans organizations and family members of the fallen service members attended the two ceremonies, held as part of the Wheeling Military Banner Program.

Lance Cpl. Gary E. Schubert, who served in Vietnam, and Pvt. Raymond W. Latz, who served in World War II, now both have public tributes displayed along Jacob Street as two of the newest military banners in the city.

Officials noted that Schubert was just over 20 years old when he lost his life in service to his country. He was decorated with numerous medals, awards and commendations.

"I also served in the United States Marine Corps for two years in Vietnam," said Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4442 Quartermaster Chuck Ryan. "I was there at the same time Lance Cpl. Schubert lost his life."

Ryan noted that VFW Wheeling Commander Bob Blake, who also participated in Thursday’s banner dedication ceremonies, was serving with the 9th Marine Regiment in the Quang Tri province, where Schubert was killed in action. Blake also was seriously wounded in battle, and Ryan said he still carries shrapnel in his body from wounds he suffered there.

War historian Michael "Cowboy" Stevenson spoke on behalf of the family during Schubert’s banner dedication. Stevenson said he has interviewed thousands of veterans -- most recently Vietnam veterans -- and is looking forward to telling their stories in a book.

Stevenson said he searched his own birth date in a veterans database to find significant events that occurred that day. He learned that 35 service members lost their lives on his birthday. Schubert was among them. He died Dec. 14, 1967.

Stevenson said he learned from the family that Schubert had enlisted to go to Vietnam, unbeknownst to his father, who placed a sticker in the back window of his vehicle that read, "My Son Is a Marine."

Dave Schoenian, president of the Moundsville Veterans Honor Guard, said he became close friends with Bob Stuckey, a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam. Stuckey was Schubert’s best friend.

"Bob came home. Gary didn’t," Schoenian noted. "Bob suffered and carried that pain his whole life, because he believed he kind of encouraged Gary somewhat to join the Marine Corps."

Stuckey was instrumental in having Interstate 470 named the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. Schoenian said that before Stuckey died two years ago, they made trips to Washington, D.C., and visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They made a rubbing of Schubert’s engraved name on the memorial wall, then knelt, wept and prayed together.

"Bob loved Gary," Schoenian said before leading the Moundsville Honor Guard in one final gun salute.

Just a few blocks away on Jacob Street, the Wheeling Military Banner Program entourage was joined Thursday by dozens who came to witness the banner dedication ceremony for Latz. Although he was killed in action more than 80 years ago, on March 8, 1945, a number of extended family members -- some who live outside the Ohio Valley but many who still live or have roots in the Center Wheeling and South Wheeling neighborhoods -- came to pay their respects and honor his memory.

"This is an outstanding attendance by Pvt. Latz’s family and friends," said John Larch of the Wheeling Military Banner Program, noting family members select where each banner is displayed in the city.

The banner for Latz flies at the northern end of South Wheeling near where members of his family once lived near Jacob and 33rd streets.

Latz, who also received several military decorations for his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, was killed in action while serving in the Pacific theater during World War II.

"He gave his all in the line of duty at Iwo Jima," Larch said.

Speaking on behalf of Latz’s family was his nephew, Michael Gaughan, who shared details he learned about his late uncle. Latz had worked at local businesses for a few years before he went behind his parents’ backs and enlisted in the military.

"My mom said he was a great, really jovial, outgoing boy," Gaughan said, adding that after his uncle’s death, his grandmother received a letter from a fellow Marine who had served alongside him.

"They ended up in two different units, so they got split up," Gaughan said. "But they were still in the same area and always tried to get in the same foxhole. He said he was really an upstanding person and a good Christian."

Mayor Denny Magruder noted that the families of those who serve or have served have helped the Wheeling Military Banner Program grow.

"This military banner program started a little less than two years ago, and I’m happy to tell you that as of today, more than 400 banners fly above the streets of Wheeling," Magruder said. "Any veteran qualifies for one of these banners or any active-duty member of the military."

Officials stressed the importance of never forgetting the sacrifices made by U.S. service members for the freedoms Americans enjoy. They also emphasized the role their families play, particularly those who worry nightly when a loved one goes off to war or who carry a lifetime of heartache when they do not return.

"We need to remember the families. They still suffer today. We observe Memorial Day once a year. Some families celebrate Memorial Day every day of the year," Ryan said. "We understand that freedom comes at a cost, paid by brave men and women."

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