Memorial Day Reflections: Staff Sgt. Joey Acfalle

A retired Marine talks about seeing the world during service.

By Andy Uhler & Rachel PhuaMay 21, 2015 7:58 am

The Texas Standard collected the memories of veterans across the state for Memorial Day 2015.

Joe Acfalle was born in Guam in 1969 and joined the Marine Corps after high school. Living away from home at a young age was hard for young Marines.

“But the best part of it all to counteract that was all the smiles from the letters coming from the loved ones,” he says. “Old Corps coming over with their care packages to give to the young ones, because this is their first time. They’re 18, 19 years old.”

Acfalle says he saw the world while he was a Marine – he met people from Vietnam, Japan and Korea. “All these things that I saw in textbooks,” he says, “coming out over here to America and actually seeing it.”

Send us your Memorial Day memories on Twitter (@texasstandard) or via email (texasstandard@kut.org).