MARCUS B. PLETCHER, LTJG, USN

Marcus Pletcher '91

Date of birth: June 19, 1969

Date of death: September 14, 1994

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1991 Lucky Bag:

Marcus Blue Pletcher

Chelsea, Michigan

Still beading from his plebe year in 22 under the reign of McCall, Smith, and Bob Hagan, Marcus planned an academic career in the mighty field of EE. Pletch went general closer to sooner than later, and his grades skyrocketed accordingly. His meddling in others' roommate selections youngster year left him dazed and confused. 4th Co. brought out Marc's "BUBBLING" personality, turning his ambition to astronomy (Uranus), math, scuba diving, women's track and the plebe indoc system. Too bad you didn't get stripes—things could be different! His heroic acts included firefighting on the Constellation, having qual pins nailed to his massive chest, chasing damsels (18 yrs) in distress in his wrangler, and wearing the sexiest lil' cocktail dress I EVER saw! Marc learned the bass Jane's Addiction style (hope you didn't want to sleep at 0100). ZZ TOP was way better dude. The boots did come in handy. No one was closer to Andy, but Marc helped all of us keep our heads up. Its been a great time, Pletch, and you're a great friend. Try not to break too many hearts in P-cola and remember—every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man, and when the shots start tasting like water, it's time to quit! GSM,LKT

Marcus Blue Pletcher

Chelsea, Michigan

Still beading from his plebe year in 22 under the reign of McCall, Smith, and Bob Hagan, Marcus planned an academic career in the mighty field of EE. Pletch went general closer to sooner than later, and his grades skyrocketed accordingly. His meddling in others' roommate selections youngster year left him dazed and confused. 4th Co. brought out Marc's "BUBBLING" personality, turning his ambition to astronomy (Uranus), math, scuba diving, women's track and the plebe indoc system. Too bad you didn't get stripes—things could be different! His heroic acts included firefighting on the Constellation, having qual pins nailed to his massive chest, chasing damsels (18 yrs) in distress in his wrangler, and wearing the sexiest lil' cocktail dress I EVER saw! Marc learned the bass Jane's Addiction style (hope you didn't want to sleep at 0100). ZZ TOP was way better dude. The boots did come in handy. No one was closer to Andy, but Marc helped all of us keep our heads up. Its been a great time, Pletch, and you're a great friend. Try not to break too many hearts in P-cola and remember—every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man, and when the shots start tasting like water, it's time to quit! GSM,LKT

Loss

Marc was lost on September 14, 1994 when the F-14 he was aboard crashed off the coast of Virginia following a mid-air collision. He was the radar intercept officer; the pilot was also lost. Both aircrew were members of Fighter Squadron (VF) 101. The other aircraft returned safely to MCAS Cherry Point.

Memorial

From the Pensacola News Journal on June 29, 1995:

The distant sound of the Blue Angels' engines set the stage for a Navy flier's memorial service recently.
About 100 yards from Big Lagoon's calm water, in a quiet cul-de-sac in the 5800 block of Grande Lagoon Road, Ken Johnson choked back tears as he spoke about his friend and former neighbor.
"Many of us here were appalled a 25-year-old guy like Mark could just disappear. So we wanted to do something for him," he said looking around at the flower garden and tail hook planted in the pilot's honor.
Sept. 14, 1994, a little over a year after assuming duty flying his dream machine an F-14 Tomcat at Oceana Naval Air Station near Virginia Beach, Va. Marcus Blue "Moon" Pletcher's jet went down. He had a mid-air collision with another jet at night, 50 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. The other jet limped backed to Cherry Point, N.C. Pletcher was never found. A search for the young pilot, who was originally from Chelsea, Mich., was called off after only 24 hours a thought that brings grimaces to the faces of those who knew and grew to love him.
On June 20, one day after what would have been his 26th birthday, 35 Grande Lagoon residents gathered to pay tribute to Pletcher by dedicating the garden to him.
Pletcher lived in the subdivision off Gulf Beach Highway for two years from July 1991 to March 1993 while attending flight school at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Residents are quick to point out that in those two years he became an integral fiber in the fabric of the neighborhood a point poignantly illustrated by the tears shed in his memory more than two years after he moved away.
"Anytime you asked him to help, he'd be the first in line and 10 minutes early," Johnson said before the memorial service. "Some out here don't like renters. But (Pletcher and his roommates) took care of their house better than some of the owners. He played with kids and kind of babysat. He was all around friendly, helpful, and willing to pitch in."
At the conclusion of the memorial service, Johnson said to the group, "I hope when you walk or jog by and you see a piece of trash, you'll pick it up and stick it in your pocket. If you see the plants need watering, there's the hose, you can give them a little drink. Mark will feel better..." Johnson's voice cracked as he broke down in tears.
As everyone paused for a moment of quiet meditation, the only sound that could be heard was the flapping of the died at sea United States flag topped with a yellow ribbon and the U.S. Navy's precision team's jets as they broke from their practice and turned toward Grande Lagoon.
Construction workers building a house adjacent to the garden respectfully stopped working. Under a scattering of white cumulus clouds painted across a pastel blue and pink early morning sky, the group of mourners looked up and waved as the Blue Angels made a low slow sweep in a missing man formation over the memorial site a tribute to Pletcher. As the jets' trailing smoke lingered over, the mourners' heads, they gathered in small groups to reminisce.
"He's that Scott O'Grady mold. An all American kid . . . looks like he belongs on a Navy recruiting poster," Nick Carter said as tears welled in his eyes. "We all fell in love with that boy. He's the kind of kid you'd want to have living next door." Capt. Scott O'Grady was the U.S. Air Force pilot who was recently rescued after his plane was shot down in the Bosnian Serb-controlled territory of Northern Bosnia.
Robin McPherson, who dated Pletcher, lived across the street from him and corresponded with him up until the time of his death, remembers how much the neighborhood children loved him.
"They'd knock on his door and ask if he could come out and play," she said. He'd accommodate with a game of ball or hide-and-go-seek. "Little girls would hide in my bushes waiting for him to jog by," said Sandy Garner, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue' while she talked about Pletcher. "I don't know if I can talk," she said pausing. "He was a wonderful lad. We were real close, like family. We had him and his parents over for dinner when he got his wings."
Betty Jernigan best remembers Pletcher for his generous personality. "The neatest thing about him was on everyone's birthday, he'd bake them a cake from scratch. He never forgot anyone's birthday."
Jernigan only remembers one time Pletcher was not accommodating. "He was the perfect neighbor, always going out of his way except when it came to snakes," Jernigan said. She asked him to help get a snake off her porch once and he responded, "I'm not into snakes."
"I think he was scared of them," she said.
But Pletcher was not afraid of going the extra mile with friendship, said Lt. Kes Townsend, his roommate for seven years who could not attend the service but spoke by phone from San Diego.
"He had that special ability ... to be a friend to anyone. We loved playing with the neighborhood kids. He had a special touch with them, as he did with the older neighbors. He was available for anything anyone wanted to do," said Townsend, who graduated from Annapolis with Pletcher in 1991. Townsend is planning to visit the memorial and old neighbors in the fall.
"Mark would have liked the memorial. If it had been one of us (dying), he would have supported the same thing for us," Townsend said. "He was like my brother."
Pletcher's parents, Dave and Valeta Pletcher, speaking from their home in Chelsea, said they know Mark would have appreciated this gesture.
"Mark was blessed with wonderful neighbors and friends," Valeta Pletcher said. "We were down there when he received his wings and met many of them."
They are especially touched by the memorial to their son and are planning a trip to see it soon.
"That is a living memorial," Dave Pletcher said. "It is along the same idea that I thought about here." He is organizing a Navy Sea Cadet unit in Chelsea in Mark's name. "This will affect the lives of several hundred kids . . . helping to make them better citizens and see what Navy life is about," he said.
"Mark loved children," Valeta Pletcher said.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Marc graduated from Chelsea High School in 1987. NHS Vice-President. Football. Track. Key Club.
His father David, a former Navy officer, served in the Korean War. Brother Dave was also on the football team.

Marcus earned his wings as a Naval Flight Officer in June 1993. He has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

"Lt.j.g. Marcus Blue "Moon" Pletcher stands in front of his F-14 Tom Cat at Oceana Naval Air Station shortly before his crash. He sent copies of this photo to many of his friends."
From his high school yearbook
"Marc makes a statement during the third hour mock election." From his high school yearbook.
"He won the Naval Academy Certificate and United States Army Reserve National Scholar/Athlete award." From his high school yearbook.