This is the VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran, during Veterans Month in America.

SUBMITTED BY:  Ron Klutho 

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 I'd like to make a nomination for the Vic 4 Vets program (an awesome idea from you guys, by the way)

My hero cousin, US Marine Scott Sommerhof, who was one of 241 Marines killed in the Beirut attack on our base in 1983

NAME AND RANK:  1st Lt. William Scott Sommerhof (we called him Scott)

BRANCH AND PLATOON:  Marines:  First Battalion 8th (Battalion Landing Team)

DATES OF SERVICE:  August 1980 - October 1983  (KIA)

AWARDS AND MEDALS: 
Purple Heart,
Combat Action Ribbon,
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal,
Navy Unit Commendation,
Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon,
United Nations Medal

Scott wanted to be a Marine all his life.  He looked up to his relatives who had served in the armed forces, including our uncle Earl Sommerhof, a Green Beret who was killed in Vietnam.   Scott's parents were not crazy about him joining the Marines, but they understood how much it meant to him and supported him fully.  Scott entered the Marines in 1980 and attained the rank of First Lieutenant, which was his rank when he was killed on October 23, 1983 when a Hezbollah-backed suicide bomber attacked our base in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 Marines.  Scott's parents had gotten a letter from him 2 days before the bombing, in which he said he was looking forward to seeing them at Christmas.  Scott believed in the mission and never wavered in his patriotism and pride to be a Marine.

Tragically, Scott's 21-year-old brother, Eric, was killed in a motorcycle accident during Scott's deployment, in 1982.

I interviewed Scott's other brother John and his mother Jo on the show I did at NewsTalk in 2023, Stories of New Americans, on the anniversary of the attack.  I also interviewed Johnny Harper on that episode, who survived the attack and has worked to keep the memory of his brothers alive.  Tim and Chris also interviewed him both in 2023 and 2024.  (He would also be a great nominee for the Vic4Vets award)

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This is today’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran, during Veterans Month in America on NewsTalkSTL.

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