(Rich Merritt here, writing this note to Gary's friends and family as well as to people who are only acquainted to him through this site or to his legacy in the Marine Corps and at Clemson University.)Last Thursday family and friends of Major Gary Fullerton joined the crowd at Clemson University's Memorial Stadium. The occasion was to participate in Clemson's dedication and memorial service of the "Scroll of Honor" commemorating Clemson alumni who've given the ultimate sacrifice defending the nation and the ideals it represents. Gary was one of 471 honorees. This link will take you to Gary's section of the online part of the memorial.
The Fullertons established a fund at Clemson to provide
scholarship assistance to Marine Officer Candidates. Please consider contributing to the fund. (follow the link in the column to the right) The more we give, the more help we can offer to the future leaders of the Marine Corps.WSPA has a brief video on the origination of the memorial that you can view at this link and the Greenville News reported on the ceremony. Rather than repeat the facts, I've pasted the article here interspersed with our photographic memories of the day.
CLEMSON — The names of 471 Clemson alumni killed in military service have been set in stone beside Memorial Stadium.For some family members who came to see the Scroll of Honor unveiled Thursday, it was an emotional moment.
The names carved in stones are set into a tree-encircled grassy mound, and their stories are preserved on a website where each one has a page and people can add pictures, thoughts and memories.
Easily more than 1,000 people, most of them family and friends of 
Clemson alumni who died in war, came Thursday to honor those who served as the Scroll of Honor was dedicated on a picture-perfect spring day.
“Their bodies are buried in peace, but their names liveth forever,” said retired Col. Ben Scarden, who survived the Bataan Death March and whose life was saved in a prisoner-of-war camp by two Clemson classmates. They never made it home and now their names are inscribed here.
The Scroll of Honor, across the street from the East Gate of Clemson’s Memorial Stadium and Howard’s Rock, is “a permanent reminder of the sacrifices of those Clemson alumni and their families,” said retired U.S. Army Col. Danny Rhodes, who was co-chairman of the project along with retired
“Service and sacrifice to you are not just words. They are reality,” said keynote speaker retired Col. Larkin Spivey, who served in Vietnam, writes books, and lost twin uncles — Clemson alumni who died flying a bomber over Holland together as pilot and co-pilot.
“We understand the full tragedy of war only when we understand that real lives in the present and the future are affected,” Spivey said. “They were real men and women with real families.”
Duane Ryan, student body president, accepted the gift of the memorial from the Clemson Corps to the university on behalf of the student body. It is “a poignant reminder of the responsibilities that accompany being a citizen of a free country,” he said. Students contributed $150,000 to the project, Ryan said.Of his many “wonderful opportunities to represent my alma mater,” Clemson President James Barker said there have been “none more meaningful than today.”
This “remarkable space” is a “sacred place,” Barker said. It is both “companion and completion” of Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, given its name in 1942, in the midst of world war, to honor alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The only sound was a baby’s cry as Clemson ROTC cadets slowly lowered the Stars and Stripes during a memorial service that was part of the dedication, voicing the emotion felt by many, like Taylor, who remembered loved ones.“It is important that we remember those who gave their lives in service of our country to give us freedom,” Anne Cargill said. “All of those who are honored are real heroes, and it’s important to keep their names immortalized.”
They were immortalized Thursday, with full military ceremony, 21 shots
fired in salute by Clemson’s Pershing Rifles, and the lonely bugle playing “Taps.” A woman in a yellow dress wiped her eyes repeatedly but tears wouldn’t stop flowing.
Far beyond the campus, on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham made a statement for the congressional record Thursday to mark the event. The Scroll of Honor, he said, is “a testament” to Clemson’s “continued commitment to honoring those who serve our country.”
We will never forget you!
