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 Colonel
(USMCR-Ret) Ed McMahon was a proud to be a Marine. I’m proud
to say that he was a friend of mine.
He was totally committed to
assisting the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum and to the Flying
Leatherneck Historical Foundation that provides volunteer and financial
support to the museum. He made several trips to San Diego on the
foundation’s behalf and every time I saw him, he asked what
he could do to help us.
Semper Fi and Rest In Peace, my friend.
— Bob
Butcher, Major General, USMC (Ret)
 Ed McMahon was a fixture in my
life from the very early days of game shows and then late-night
television. I grew up with Ed in my home.
He was a genuinely kind and gentle man and I’m proud I had
the pleasure to speak with and see him the past few years.
Yet, with all his other accomplishments, he was most proud of being
a Marine aviator. He epitomized “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” and
he shared that any time and any way he could.
He is very much missed.
— S.H., San Diego
In 1997, my wife, Lil, and I attended the 50th anniversary of the
Marines Memorial Club in San Francisco. Ed McMahon was the Guest
of Honor and we had the pleasure of hearing him speak. Despite the
fact that he is best known for his long and illustrious career in
show business, he was very obviously proud of his career as a combat
pilot.
 It is unlikely you could ever get a better speaker than a man who does this for a living. His remarks were very interesting and very well received by the attendees. However, he brought the house down when he told the audience about meeting his wife, Pamela, and the time they called her son, who, I believe, was in boot camp at the time to tell him they were getting married. As I remember it, apparently, they felt that Pamela's son might have some concerns since he didn't know they were serious and had never met McMahon. Ed said they put the call in and Pamela spoke to her son and explained that she had been seeing someone and that they were now serious and considering marriage. According to Ed, she thought her son would be surprised to find out she was marrying a famous celebrity. When she told him who it was, her son said "Wow Mom, this is great. Do you realize that he is a Marine?" So, he was suitably impressed for a whole different reason than they expected. Pamela's son was attending the event with them and he, too, got a big laugh out of the story.
Lil had hoped to get a photograph of me with Mr. McMahon following the breakfast. However, the event was heavily attended by many high ranking Marine Corps Officers and, following the breakfast, they all wanted to speak to him. When we realized that it would be a long wait, we decided to get back to room, change clothes and hit the road as we had to drive back to San Diego. After we checked out of our room, we were waiting outside the hotel for our car when the McMahons exited the hotel. A couple of people walking down the street recognized him and stopped to talk. He was extremely patient and gracious to them, so we decided to wait and get the photo, if possible. When we approached him, Lil asked if we could get a picture and he gave us that famous smile and said "I would be honored". Following the photograph, he chatted with me for several minutes asking me about my experiences in Korea and Vietnam despite the fact that his car had been brought up and his wife and son were waiting.
Since we are deeply involved in the Military Community and attend many, many events, we just assumed we would run into him again someday. Unfortunately, we never did. Last year, Lil met the Public Affairs Director for the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation and, in conversation about various military people, Col. McMahon's name came up and Lil told her the story and how sorry she was that she was never able to get the photo signed. This happened after Col. Mahon started having serious medical problems. When Lil realized that he was involved with the foundation and museum, she asked if she could get an address for him. The FLHF staffer declined to give out his personal address but said if we would send it to her, she would send it on to him.
So, we wrote him a note, packaged it up and sent it to her. In the meantime, Mr. McMahon's health, according to what we read, deteriorated, so with all the problems, we absolutely did not expect him to be able to be bothered with "fan mail." However, much to our surprise, some time later, the picture was returned to us signed. We were so impressed that he took the time to do that when he was dealing with so much in his personal life.
 I served multiple combat tours in both Korea and Vietnam. During my time in Korea, I developed a deep appreciation and admiration for the courageous and daring pilots who flat out flew those planes practically into the deck covering the hot spots. Weather permitting, they were always on call when they were needed. There is no way to determine how many lives were saved due to our dedicated aviators. Ed McMahon was one of these amazing men.
The Marine Corps has lost a great Marine, the entertainment world has lost a legend, the foundation and museum have lost a steadfast friend, the McMahon family has lost a proud and loving husband and father and the world is a little less bright without him.
Our deepest sympathy goes out to his wife and children.
Semper Fidelis,
Captain Joe Larkin
USMC Retired
Ed McMahon, a Marine and entertainer from the Greatest Generation.
AJA, Coronado
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