PhM 3/c Bob De Geus was wounded and evacuated a few days after landing with Fox company, 2nd Bat., 26th Reg., 5th Marine Division, on Iwo Jima, 1945. After becoming separated from the men of Fox Company, Bob spent the remainder of his active duty in the Navy with assignments at Camp Shoemaker, Oakland, California and aboard the USS Bollinger (APA 234) out of San Francisco, California.
Almost three years to the day, Bob returned to his boyhood home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, in March, 1946, after being discharged from the Navy in Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago, Illinois. He enrolled at Michigan State College (Now Michigan State University), with the aid of the G.I. Bill in September of 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts Education in June of 1950.
Bob married Patricia Webb in the Fall of 1948, and the first of their four children was born on Michigan State's Commencement Day in June, 1950. Bob's young family moved to Coopersville, Michigan, about 100 miles from Eaton Rapids, to begin his teaching career in 1952. It wasn't long before two sons and another daughter were added to the family. After 57 years of marriage, Bob and Pat are proud of their eleven grandchildren, and will soon be celebrating the birth of their first great-granchild.
Bob taught high school drawing and art for 30 years, retiring early due to illness. After teaching art it seemed natural that Bob would spend retirement years making art. Watercolor became his medium of choice and his paintings are featured in many private collections throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Bob will tell you of two important, life-altering experiences since residing in Coopersville. The first happened not long after accepting a teaching position for the Coopersville Public Schools. He learned that an Iwo Jima veteran was a school administrator in his district. 1st Lt. John Noe, Jr. had survived serious wounds sustained on Iwo Jima. Lt. Noe was a Paramarine before joining the 5th Marine Division, and he became a mortar platoon leader with D Company, 2nd Bat., 26th Reg., 5th Marine Division. He became Bob's mentor and friend for life.
The second life-altering experience happened many years later, when Bob received a phone call from Fox Company's Rudy Mueller, welcoming Bob back into the fellowship with the Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Bat., 26th Reg., 5th Marine Division and the 5th Marine Division Association.
Bob DeGeus laments, "It is with tears of joy and love from the bottom of my heart for all the men and their wives and families of Fox Company and even a few scoundrels from Dog Company, 26th Marines. The lives of my entire family have surely been enriched by the many years of interaction with this eclectic group of Marines and Sailors from 1944 'till the present.
Both of these life-altering experiences are a testament to what Bob calls "the meaning of Semper Fi."
Additionally, Bob states "I feel especially blessed by the friendship of George and Melba Wahlen and their family. And I feel honored to be included in author Gary Toyn's story of "The Quiet Hero, The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima."
Semper Fi
