{"id":7598,"date":"2026-06-18T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7598"},"modified":"2026-06-18T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:30:00","slug":"ceremony-honors-marine-corps-legend-with-new-headstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7598","title":{"rendered":"Ceremony honors Marine Corps legend with new headstone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2026-06-18T18:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

In late November 2025, Marine Corps Veteran Brooks Tucker happened\u00a0upon a Facebook post of Veterans from the \u201cMarine Reconnaissance Foundation.\u201d They were cleaning the weathered and dilapidated headstone of Navy Cross recipient Lt. Col. William Leftwich Jr. at a private cemetery in Memphis.<\/p>\n

Leftwich, who was killed in a helicopter crash during combat in Vietnam, is best known for the namesake \u201cLeftwich Award for Outstanding Leadership<\/a>,\u201d presented annually to an outstanding Marine captain serving with the ground forces of the Fleet Marine Force. <\/p>\n

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Newspaper clipping announcing the helicopter crash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Concerned with the condition of the headstone, Tucker, a former VA senior leader, reached out to the foundation\u2019s president about its\u00a0role in maintaining the headstone and to inquire if the foundation had contact with the family to request a replacement. He also obtained information\u00a0from VA\u2019s National Cemetery Administration<\/a> (NCA) on the matter. Neither had a means of contacting the late Marine\u2019s\u00a0family to suggest replacement due to age and condition. <\/p>\n

Undeterred, Tucker contacted the Marine Corps League in Memphis and spoke with Craig Berry, who volunteered to go by the cemetery and look at the headstone firsthand to determine the best course of action for restoring the weathered headstone.<\/p>\n

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Old, weathered headstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In early March, Berry gathered color photos of the marker, completed the appropriate paperwork and applied for a replacement through VA\u2019s QuickSubmit. Two weeks later, NCA\u2019s Memorial Products Service (MPS) determined that the marker was still legible and didn\u2019t meet the criteria for replacement.<\/p>\n

VA will replace an existing Government-furnished headstone or marker when the memorial product if it.<\/p>\n