Matocha Info

2nd Lt. Donald Matocha

Tue, 2006-01-10 13:29 |

talldavid

By QUALA MATOCHA

Home at last. After missing in action in South Vietnam since April 5, 1968, the remains of U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Donald John Matocha finally came home to his family and friends in the small Southeast Texas town of Smithville.

Lt. Matocha...Donald,
You shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old
Age shall not worry you
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember you.

The lost Marine was laid to rest with full military honors Saturday. A crowded Smithville Recreation Center filled with his sisters and brothers, their families, extended families, military personnel, fellow Aggies from Texas A&M University and Gov. Rick Perry, also a Texas A&M graduate, gathered to say "welcome home."

Long-missing Marine comes home at last

Sat, 2004-09-25 13:55 |

talldavid

Long-missing Marine comes home at last September 5, 2004 - Houston Chronicle

Donald Matocha balked when his sister Linda asked him to be godfather to her soon-to-be-born son. He was being ordered to Vietnam with a reconnaissance unit, Matocha warned, and his chances of returning home to Smithville were not good. Unfazed, his sister stuck with her decision. Months later, on April 5, 1968, the young Marine was killed in action.
Thus, Wayne Masur never met his uncle. But even after death, the Marine fulfilled the mentoring obligations of a godfather. The stories family members told made it seem Matocha never had died. ...