Some Survive the Battlefield

No one is sure whether he tried to jump the draw bridge in Pensacola or if he meant to kill himself. Some were concerned that Marine Corps Major, Stephen W. Pless, needed some help. Pless flew 780 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam. He was a highly decorated Marine with the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal with seven Silver Stars and two Gold Stars in lieu of second through 38 awards, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”.

Stephen Pless was Born in Newnan, Georgia and attended Decatur High School outside of Atlanta. The old Coweta County Courthouse has a memorial to him and to US Air Force Lt. Colonel Joe Jackson who also received the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. They received their awards on the same day from President Johnson.

About 20 years after Stephen’s death my dad wrote a screenplay about his life. He traveled to Newnan and other places to interview family and friends. He was never able to generate any interest in it. Years later I realized that some of my father’s motivation was that he felt some responsibility. They were colleagues in Pensacola. My father talked about how badly Stephen wanted to go back to Vietnam. He responded by suggesting to Stephen that he had done enough.

It was not until the end of his life that my father talked about the help some people needed and never got.

“…but the point is that there was no question in my mind that if it was today’s military and coming back from war that somebody would have least taken some steps to help him and maybe even to help me…”

Memorial Day is to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Veterans Day commemorates the service of all Veterans. I think of Stephen Pless on Memorial Day.