In memory of Mark's 68th birthday, 11/26/2015. He has been gone just about exactly one year. I think of him often. In his quiet way, he was a most remarkable person. -Peter Stoner
Since Elementary school, Mark and me were friends. We put on our first baseball caps together and cheered each other on to the next base. As the smallest, we were sometimes picked on by the biggest in our class. We dusted each other off and formed a life long bond. We kept an infrequent friendship through JH and NHS. At NHS we took shop courses where I'd see him more often. He was always respectful and upbeat. He also seemed to catch my mood with an insightful eye and a smile. Donning shorts in the gym, he and I looked like dwarfs compared to our teammates, but our strength and speed helped us get through prejudices. Although The coaches threw us the dregs for positions and opportunities, we smiled and played on. After graduation, we both put on uniforms; he a USMC and me army. I became a crew chief and repairman on fixed and rotary wing aircraft, he an infantry tunnel rat. His job, picked for his small stature, was to see were tunnels led and destroy the enemy. After our discharges, we met and talked about our own experience's. He seemed to adapt better than me to civilian life. At home, nothing was the same to me but Mark and his smile. We had both survived - narrowly. He remained my only lifelong veteran friend and I miss him this day as a brothe. RIP. Steve
Peter Stoner
In memory of Mark's 68th birthday, 11/26/2015. He has been gone just about exactly one year. I think of him often. In his quiet way, he was a most remarkable person. -Peter Stoner
Steven Wightman
Since Elementary school, Mark and me were friends. We put on our first baseball caps together and cheered each other on to the next base. As the smallest, we were sometimes picked on by the biggest in our class. We dusted each other off and formed a life long bond. We kept an infrequent friendship through JH and NHS. At NHS we took shop courses where I'd see him more often. He was always respectful and upbeat. He also seemed to catch my mood with an insightful eye and a smile. Donning shorts in the gym, he and I looked like dwarfs compared to our teammates, but our strength and speed helped us get through prejudices. Although The coaches threw us the dregs for positions and opportunities, we smiled and played on. After graduation, we both put on uniforms; he a USMC and me army. I became a crew chief and repairman on fixed and rotary wing aircraft, he an infantry tunnel rat. His job, picked for his small stature, was to see were tunnels led and destroy the enemy. After our discharges, we met and talked about our own experience's. He seemed to adapt better than me to civilian life. At home, nothing was the same to me but Mark and his smile. We had both survived - narrowly. He remained my only lifelong veteran friend and I miss him this day as a brothe. RIP. Steve