1 00:00:00,696 --> 00:00:04,640 (quiet dramatic music) 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,150 - I first found out about my grandfather Lester 3 00:00:08,150 --> 00:00:09,350 after I'd commissioned. 4 00:00:09,350 --> 00:00:10,960 I came for Christmas leave 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:15,050 and told everyone my stories about OCS, 6 00:00:15,050 --> 00:00:16,380 and my great-grandmother, 7 00:00:16,380 --> 00:00:20,587 so Lester's would-be daughter-in-law said, 8 00:00:20,587 --> 00:00:24,060 "Oh, well, you had a grandfather in the Marine Corps too." 9 00:00:24,060 --> 00:00:25,350 I didn't know it at the time. 10 00:00:25,350 --> 00:00:28,520 So she pulled out a photo of him with two other Marines 11 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:30,557 and said, "Yeah, that's your grandfather in the middle, 12 00:00:30,557 --> 00:00:32,557 "and he was killed somewhere in France." 13 00:00:34,020 --> 00:00:35,750 I am Captain Ashley-Anne Wallace, 14 00:00:35,750 --> 00:00:39,040 great-great-granddaughter of Private Lester Wane Mullins, 15 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,813 killed 11 June, 1918 in Belleau Wood. 16 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,300 So that's all I'd known initially, 17 00:00:46,300 --> 00:00:48,630 and my grandfather, 18 00:00:48,630 --> 00:00:52,040 Lester's grandson, pulled out a file, 19 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,620 and there's a few letters in there from Lester, 20 00:00:54,620 --> 00:00:57,120 one which said that they were in France 21 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,990 and they're talking about the cows 22 00:00:58,990 --> 00:01:01,440 in the loggo train, and how they were great cows. 23 00:01:02,340 --> 00:01:05,470 And then I later found out that he was in Belleau Wood 24 00:01:05,470 --> 00:01:08,120 with the Sixth Marines and was killed in Belleau Wood. 25 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,650 So, brand new Second Lieutenant, 26 00:01:10,650 --> 00:01:13,163 full of Marine Corp esprit de corps, 27 00:01:14,190 --> 00:01:15,960 it was amazing, it was amazing 28 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:17,410 to find out that information. 29 00:01:19,420 --> 00:01:21,680 My family's very proud of their history. 30 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,220 And even though Lester's getting to France 31 00:01:24,220 --> 00:01:26,970 wasn't under the most ideal circumstances, 32 00:01:26,970 --> 00:01:29,210 Lester wanted a little bit more out of life 33 00:01:29,210 --> 00:01:31,060 before settling down into parenthood. 34 00:01:32,380 --> 00:01:35,420 They were extremely proud to send me over there 35 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:37,820 with as much knowledge as they had 36 00:01:37,820 --> 00:01:38,887 to pass on and to say, 37 00:01:38,887 --> 00:01:41,037 "oh yeah, go over there, see him, 38 00:01:41,037 --> 00:01:43,297 "and by the way visit this place while you're there 39 00:01:43,297 --> 00:01:45,407 "because that's where his grandson was." 40 00:01:46,870 --> 00:01:48,770 And then to come back and tell them what I saw 41 00:01:48,770 --> 00:01:51,070 and what it was like to see the gravestone, 42 00:01:51,070 --> 00:01:54,020 having been the second person in our family now 43 00:01:54,020 --> 00:01:59,020 to see it, was a great way to pull everybody back together, 44 00:01:59,070 --> 00:02:02,023 and just add another chapter to our family's history. 45 00:02:02,023 --> 00:02:04,700 (quiet dramatic music) 46 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:07,123 So having never met my grandfather, 47 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,440 and never having been to Belleau Wood, 48 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:12,480 coming here, it helps me to connect 49 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,883 with a family member I've never met, 50 00:02:15,890 --> 00:02:17,140 and also to help connect 51 00:02:17,140 --> 00:02:19,333 with a piece of Marine Corp history. 52 00:02:20,710 --> 00:02:24,380 Both together just make it such an incredible experience. 53 00:02:24,380 --> 00:02:27,550 So for me to be able to connect with my family member, 54 00:02:27,550 --> 00:02:28,400 and share the experience 55 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,610 with all the other Marines that are here, 56 00:02:30,610 --> 00:02:32,597 I'll remember it forever. 57 00:02:32,597 --> 00:02:35,850 (quiet dramatic music) 58 00:02:35,850 --> 00:02:38,970 When we discovered that's approximately 59 00:02:38,970 --> 00:02:41,810 where he was killed, and then a few yards from there, 60 00:02:41,810 --> 00:02:44,650 that's where he was temporarily buried 61 00:02:44,650 --> 00:02:47,200 along with other Marines that were killed that day, 62 00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:50,390 we stop, and we look around, 63 00:02:50,390 --> 00:02:53,680 and we see the woods haven't changed that much. 64 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,660 Sure there's new growth and everything, 65 00:02:55,660 --> 00:02:58,723 but the site line is basically the same. 66 00:02:59,810 --> 00:03:04,240 So to know that that's where he took his last breath, 67 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,270 saw his last vision, 68 00:03:07,270 --> 00:03:08,300 and then to know that he never 69 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:11,193 saw the baby waiting for him at home. 70 00:03:12,110 --> 00:03:14,393 He never came home to see the Rockies again. 71 00:03:15,350 --> 00:03:18,800 It makes you think, God, he made the ultimate sacrifice, 72 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,470 just like so many Marines and soldiers have done 73 00:03:21,470 --> 00:03:23,980 for years in the past. 74 00:03:23,980 --> 00:03:26,400 So although he left Colorado 75 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,570 not under the best circumstances, 76 00:03:28,570 --> 00:03:31,410 he probably should've held out for his responsibilities. 77 00:03:31,410 --> 00:03:34,373 He left to serve, and he, 78 00:03:35,390 --> 00:03:38,890 he served like he said he would. 79 00:03:38,890 --> 00:03:40,240 He just never made it home.