9/15/2004 - Football
Remembering Ron Winchester
I write this with a heavy heart to express my condolences to those of you who knew my good friend and Marine brother, Lt. Ron Winchester. By now I know all of you are fully aware of the circumstances that caused us to lose one of Navy Football's and the Marine Corps' finest men.
To say the least, I knew Ronnie very well. Not only did we play ball together for three years, but we hung out quite a bit at the Academy and also while we were living in Southern California. Hell, he stayed at the apartment that Ryan Hamilton and I lived in almost every weekend. We'd go party all over the place. He was really good at getting everybody together. If he told you to show up, you had to be there or he would make you feel as if you were missing the time of your life. Ron was a hard guy to say "no" to. Almost every weekend, Ron would come in from 29 Palms and coax Brian Broadwater and Chris Lepore to come down from Northern California so that we all could hang out in Pacific Beach or in Orange County. Justin Jordan would always be there too along with Hoot Stahl and Kostas Hatzidakis and we'd occasionally get an appearance from Davede Alexander. We played hoops or golfed all the time and then went out and partied The last six months of his life were indeed spent having a good time in the company of his friends.
I'm sure all of you that knew Ron knew him as a "tough guy". That's the way I'll always remember him. He was one of those kind of guys that would play hurt and would never complain. He just did what was asked of him.
Another great thing about Ron was that he always had your back. I can remember scoring a touchdown on the goal line against Toledo and getting decked after the whistle by an opposing lineman. Ron saw me take the hit and blasted the guy. That's the kind of guy he was. I'm sure a lot of the other guys who played with Ron can tell you all the exact same type of story. He loved his friends and he didn't take any B.S. from anybody. People just knew that he was not a guy to mess with.
I didn't learn of Ron's death until Monday and I still do not know all the details. I do know that Ron died honorably here in Iraq doing what was right for our country and the Marine Corps. When he was killed, he was preparing his Marines for a long 7 months of operating in a dangerous area.
He was doing what every Marine Officer is trained to do. He was leading from the front; putting himself in harm's way before his Marines.
There are times when I have doubted what we are doing over here, but my mind immediately shifts to the safety of my family and to people like all of you back in the states. It is much better for us to be fighting this one out over here, while all of you enjoy the freedoms that America has to offer. We need to be here so that the fight doesn't come to us as it did 3 years ago. I know that's what Ronnie believed too.
Four of my Marines were killed here early in the deployment. I wrote to all of their parents and relatives and explained what had happened. I received a letter from one of their mother's that had a tone of anger and resentment for allowing her son to go. She wasn't angry at me. She was angry at President Bush and those in the higher echelon's of command. Please understand that all of us over here are confident in our leadership and are here because of our own choosing. If the guys on the team need to know one thing it is that we are purpose driven and we know our mission. I know there are probably some of our players who are starting to doubt what they have committed to do. Please do your best to steady their faith. When this is all over the world will be a better place. If we stop too soon the lives of those lost over here will have been lost in vain.
Congratulations on the great win against Duke. I read all about it on Navysports.com. I should be able to catch some highlights now and again on ESPN since we do have satellite TV. Please let the guys know that the "Brotherhood" is watching and know you all will have a great year. A lot of us are still serving in Iraq and one Brother, most definitely, is now serving in Heaven.
With Regards and Condolences from Iraq
Ed Malinowski
1st Lt. U.S. Marine Corps
Motor Transport Officer
3rd Battalion/ 1st Marines
