James Dieryck
James Leo Dieryck-Corporal
United States Marine Corps
Born: July 28, 1939
Died: August 19, 1965
James Leo Dieryck (Jimmy) was born on July 28, 1939, to Helen and Leo Dieryck. He was their third child and their first son, and had three sisters and one brother. Jimmy was raised in Lakewood community, outside of Duluth, Minnesota. Jimmy attended Lakewood School, then was bussed into Duluth to finish school at Central High. Family was an important part of growing up. A lot of time was spent swimming in a little pond, fishing, sliding, and skating. We belonged to 4-H and had a cabin on a lake. Jim and his brother did a lot of hunting and fishing with my dad. We raised a few animals, so of course there were always chores to do.
Jim and his brother had one car between them, and it rarely ran. I don't remember too many fights over this, but maybe I was too young to remember. As the baby of the family, I was protected by my big brothers, especially Jimmy. He taught me to swim and always waited for me when I couldn't keep up.
Jimmy was an accident waiting to happen when he was a kid. He was always getting hurt and needing stitches. I used to think he did this on purpose, because my parents always brought ice cream cones for the victim after everything was patched. Then one summer he was running to help a neighbor with haying and he ran right into a barb-wire fence. Boy, when I saw his face, no ice cream cone was worth that many stitches!
Jim joined the Marine Corps when he was 18. He married in 1961, and had a daughter in 1963. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Hia wife was killed in an accident in October of 1964, when she was hit by a military truck. She was pregnant with their second child and she and the child died instantly. Jimmy's other daughter came back to Duluth to stay with us. It was a time for us to share in his grief and to get to know each other all over again, since I was only 11 when Jim joined the military.
Jimmy was to be transferred to Hawaii in the spring of 1965. He spent only 24 hours there before being shipped on to Vietnam, a place we were just learning about. His letters told of all the horrors of the war there.
Jimmy was shot on August 18th and died on August 19, 1965. He was 26 years old.
After the initial contact with the military at the time, we were kept informed by telegrams. I had taken my mother to pick up some telegrams and my dad had stayed home. He went to get the mail and there was a letter from Jimmy. I will never forget the day I saw my father crying so hard and he said to my mother when we got home, "Look, they made a mistake, he's alive!" They were afraid to open the letter for a while, but then we opened it, and Jimmy had written that he was going on one last mission before going on R&R. I still cry when I remember the pain in my parents' faces, and I think of all parents who lose a child.
Jimmy's body was returned home, and his funeral Mass was said in the same church where he was baptized, where he made his first communion, where he was confirmed and was an altar boy, and where he was married. After the funeral, Jimmy was brought out to California where he was buried next to his wife.
Jimmy was survived by his parents, three sisters and one brother. We survived with the help of family and friends. His daughter is now 32 years old and has two boys and is expecting a new baby soon. Jimmy's parents have since died, and his only brother died of cancer two years ago.
I have smiled a lot and cried a lot, reminiscing in my mind. This is just a glimpse into his life; I guess it would take a whole book to tell everything. I hope I have given you a hint of who Jimmy was.
Maggie Wilson, sister of James Dieryck
From "The Faces Behind the Names"
by Don Ward
Semper Fidelis, Marine!
Posted by: Jim McIlhenney
Relationship: Marine Viet Nam Veteran
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
