Publisher’s Note: Each year the Mount Ayr Record News makes an effort to highlight a local veteran during Veteran’s Day. If you know of a veteran we should highlight in the future please reach out to the newspaper at staff@mtayrnews.com.
by Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — On Tuesday November 10, the United States Marine Corps celebrated it’s 251st anniversary. The nation itself just crossed its 250th anniversary, indicating that there was a formal military branch called the Marines before there was even a nation. One local marine was kind enough to sit with the Record News and reminisce about his 10 years of service to his country from 1969 to 1979.
Robert “Butch” Chapin, a long time Mount Ayr resident, sat in his lounge chair and shared his experiences and what it meant to be a Marine. Chapin was stationed originally in Okinawa, Japan where he served as an E-5 mechanic charged with repairing mostly military combat aircraft during the height of the Vietnam war. When asked how he became a Marine he was very matter of fact.
“John F. Kennedy was how I became a Marine,” Chapin said about what convinced him to serve. “When I heard his speech where he stated ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’”
This famous quote from the slain commander and chief no doubt accounted for a great number of enlistees. Throughout his military career, Chapin traveled back and forth from overseas to stateside assignments eventually winding up where he started in San Diego, California. Chapin did his basic training there and was later sent overseas.
“I’m what they called a Hollywood Marine.” he said, smiling. Chapin had a tumultuous career often finding himself at odds with his superior officers landing him in hot water from time to time. But there was no more dedicated member of the Marine Corps than Sgt. Robert “Butch” Chapin. He told tales of his car racing days when his turn in the military was completed and happily pointed out an autographed picture of NASCAR legend Tony Stewart hanging on the wall behind him.
When asked what Veterans Day meant to him he got quiet for a moment and then responded.
“Its a time to honor those that are gone, first and foremost, then we can honor those that served and those that are serving,” he said.
He spoke of the frustration of dealing with politicians in war time and how they hamper the objectives on occasion. He specifically mentioned a few occasions that political leadership during Vietnam paused actions on the ground enabling the enemy to regroup and launch a counter attack resulting in American troops getting “wiped out.”
He spent some time touching on the current political climate and also fights that our military are engaged in right now. He hopes the conflict will end soon, but he also wants to make sure we achieve our goals.
Chapin is a perfect example of how enrollment into this particular branch of service creates a lasting, lifetime impact on every single soldier who takes the oath. He is the embodiment of what it means to “serve.” He is to this day and all those days after a Marine. Mostly he is a proud American. A special thanks to all the veterans and especially to Butch Chapin for spending an afternoon sharing his life with the Mount Ayr Record News and subsequently to our readers. Your service to your country and to your community will forever be appreciated, and always be remembered. Semper Fi, Marine. Happy Veterans Day.
