Pony Express | The Man On The Left
The man on the left (Owen Litfin) had served as an enlisted infantry Marine during the Vietnam war. It had been 7 years since he left the service, and two years before the war’s end, when the man on the right (LtCol Jackson Doan) was born. Two years later Saigon fell. Amid the chaos and terror, 2 year old Jackson , his siblings and mother, were airlifted to safety in a helicopter piloted by US Marines.
Last Thursday the two men stood side by side at Camp Pendleton.
In the interim between 1973 and today — Owen, who had completed his USMC service lived a successful and full adult life, moving from Minnesota to California with his wife and son , where he now lives and and serves on our Team Darkhorse Board. LtCol Jackson Doan grew up in California, attended and graduated from USC Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, before deciding he wanted to serve his country, and so became a Marine.
In the photo Owen presents a Change of Command gift to LtCol Jackson T, Doan.
It is a framed photo of “DARKHORSE” taken at our “Showcase for Valor” Memorial Concert and Ceremony during which we honored 25 fallen Marines.
The combat boots set backwards in the stirrups to represent those lost warriors, were boots worn by Owen LItfin more than 45 years ago.
The DARKHORSE, draped in an American Flag, is a Nellie Gail Quarter horse known as RAVEN . Raven’s owners volunteered her to be part of that ceremony. Her appearance and photos spread across the country through social media , when veterans in attendance shared the story of the tribute to their fallen friends. Also at the concert that night a Nellie Gail Boy Scout, there with his family, noticed that no permanent flag flew at Gallup Park. That boy, Zak Bettey, vowed to do something about it. His Eagle Scout project became the installation of the American Flag and plaque honoring 3rdBattalion,5thMarines which now stands in Gallup Park.
The story of these men, the boy scout, and the horse owners represent the best of America and what we can be and are, when we come together in love of freedom. Semper FI!