Trying to fulfill a mans last wish

Most of you know this wonderful man. Some call him Sarge, one called him soul mate, and several called him dad. My father, and our friend completed the fight today and went on to join at Gods side. I will miss his sense of humor and dry sarcastic way for the rest of my days. Shortly after he passed my sister told me that he had a wish. A wish that according to the regulations of the Vetrans Administration will not come true, but if you know me I will not give up that easily. Sarge passed from cancer, his third different cancer that worked its way through his body for the last eleven years. All three cancers were caused by Agent Orange which was routinly sprayed on many of our troops during the Vietnam War. His wish was to have his name placed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. He felt like he deserved that since his service cut short his life, and so do I.


The following is a letter that I drafted between tears to Congressman Alan West:

January 29, 2012

Representative Alan West

1708 Longwood HOB

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Mr. West, 

I am writing this letter to you with a very heavy heart. My father, Charles Edwin Cordle passed away today after eleven years of fighting three different cancers. My father was a decorated veteran of 26 years of service to his country, and I choose you to receive this letter because he appreciated your service for veterans in the United States Congress. My father was a conservative patriot who loved his country, and would proudly give his life defending it. Sadly, in a roundabout way that has now happened. 

My father volunteered to join the United States Army in 1960, serving several tours in Vietnam, Germany, Korea and Okinawa. During his tours in Vietnam he was routinely sprayed with Agent Orange, which the doctors at the VA hospital in West Palm Beach determined was the cause of each of his three bouts with cancer.  

One of his final wishes in the great life he enjoyed was for his name to be placed where it belongs; alongside his 58,195 brothers that perished in that fight on the Vietnam Memorial. We are all aware that my father did not perish on the battlefield, but the actions on that field of battle shortened his time here which makes his placement on that wall fitting. 

Mr. West, I am not expecting anything from you except what is right. I know that as an advocate for United States Service men and women that you are exactly the right person for this undertaking. What I am asking for is not easy, but what part of the life of a veteran is easy. Please help, thank you sir.

Sincerely, 

Charles Edwin Cordle II




I wish to encourage his friends to draft similar letters to their Congressmen so maybe we can make his wish come true. Thank You for your help and I love you all. Most of all I love my dad and will do anything I can to make his wish a reality.