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David McNerney funeral
Caisson bearing the body of David McNerney
On March 22, 1967, A Company, 1-8 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division was ambushed by an enemy force three-times it size while on patrol deep in a Vietnamese jungle. Many died and were wounded in the initial onslaught, but many more survived thanks to the heroism and leadership of the company‘s First Sergeant, David H. McNerney, a native of Lowell who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. McNerney’s family had moved to Houston when David was a young teenager. It was to that community that he returned upon his retirement from the US Army and it was in that community that he died last Sunday at age 79 after a seven month battle with lung cancer. David was my mother’s cousin and in recent years had visited Lowell frequently. This week I travelled to Houston to attend his funeral.
Friday night at a funeral home in a rural-becoming-suburban town on the outskirts of Houston called Crosby, a procession of people whose lives David McNerney had touched – his soldiers from Vietnam; his colleagues in the US Customs Service; his friends from the American Legion; his many great nieces and nephews – advanced to a podium and told of how David had touched their lives, had inspired them, had saved them from almost certain death. They described a kind and gentle man who spent his life collecting stamps but who as a soldier was a peerless leader, a stern disciplinarian and a fierce warrior.
The tribute to David McNerney continued yesterday at his funeral at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Crosby, Texas. On the altar were seven priests. Seated in the front row were three generals and five Medal of Honor recipients. In another section sat forty of the survivors from Company A. Richard Sauer, who retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel but who back in 1967 was a young lieutenant who was grievously wounded in the opening moments of the March 22 action but who maintained a close relationship with McNerney ever since, gave a moving eulogy that contained many of David’s own sentiments.
The tribute continued as the funeral procession of closer to two hundred cars than one hundred, slowly rolled down the flag-lined streets of Crosby which were lined with residents waving American flags or saluting the hearse as it passed. Once on the highway, every entrance ramp along the hour-long route was blocked by police to ensure that the procession made it to the Houston Veterans’ Cemetery intact.
At the cemetery, the hearse turned off behind a clump of trees while the family and the men of Company A parked close to the entrance. Soon the sound of a bagpipe could be heard and a single horse ridden by a soldier wearing a World War I uniform appeared followed by six more horses pulling a caisson that bore the flag draped casket. Next came a single soldier leading a riderless horse that had a single boot facing backward in its saddle’s stirrup. The piper and a modern-day soldier carrying the Medal of Honor flag were next in the order of march which concluded with the generals marching in a rank.
The caisson paused long enough for the family and Company A to fall in. The procession proceeded another 150 yards to the cemetery’s amphitheater-like Circle of Honor where the final ceremony was to be held. After an opening prayer and remarks by the senior general, by the Command Sergeant Major of the 4th Infantry Division, by one of the Medal of Honor recipients present and by David’s close friend, Gerald Blankenship, a flight of four Apache helicopters passed over the cemetery with one of the aircraft veering off to create a “missing man” formation to honor David McNerney’s passing. The ceremony concluded with an honor guard from the Fourth Infantry Division firing a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, and the senior general presenting David’s brother Dick McNerney with the flag from the casket “on behalf of a grateful nation.” True words, indeed.
Gen James Thurman presenting flag to Dick McNerney
Well written ! I would like to see all the pictures, sir.
What a beautiful service. Thank you for your service Mr. McNerney. Did there happen to be any video? My son in law was there with the half section from Ft. Sill.
I didn’t take any video but I have more pictures which I will post tomorrow night as a slide show. There were several people there with video cameras including some who looked like they worked at Houston TV stations. If I find any video online, I’ll be sure to post a link to it.
If you notice the general has the new blue dress uniform. The enlisted men in the funeral honor guard have the old green dress uniform. The green dress uniform will be phased out the end of 2014.
Sorry for your loss, excellent photos most impressive shot
Thanks
John McDonough
That was nicely written Dick. Thank you.
I also served in Vietnam both in the US Army and as a US Govt civilian from 1966-1971 and although I never knew David there, I did get to know him in his second career with US Customs. My wife and I both worked with David when he was with US Customs in Houston.
I’d like to share some photographs and video that I took this past weekend. There are now just 86 surviving Medal Of Honor recipients – it was a profound experience to witness how the United States Army takes care of it’s own. Perhaps even more touching was the respect and patriotism shown by the residents of Crosby, Texas that little town where David lived.
I hope that the links provided below in some way bring across the experience for those who were unable to witness it in person. I’m afraid that my video camera battery died prematurely so I was unable to capture the ceremony in the Rotunda. Although I did get still photos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMjoz8abBtE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLG0ZWUczgY
Photographs are here – feel free to use them as you see fit
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76853&id=1594451449&l=78dc6b4a21
Nigel, thank you for sharing the videos and photos with us. I’ll repost them on the main part of this site.
Thank you sir, for honoring an uncommon man.
It was with great honor that I gave his eulogy yet
with great sadness.
He was my 1st Sgt and I shall forever miss this soldier.
America mourns with us.
Colonel Sauer – First Sergeant McNerney (David, to me) once again showed his superb judgment in selecting the eulogist for his funeral. Your’s was a wonderful remembrance of a wonderful man. Thank you for adding your comment here.
An excellent story on David and great photos. He was a fixture in the Houston Veterans Day Parade every year. I had the honor of marching with him at the Houston St Patrick’s Day Parade in 2005. He was a true Irishman, and we shared a pint afterwards at one of our local Pubs.