Opinion » Local

Buddies remember their friend, hero

Print this story | Email this story

1st Lt. Matthew Vandegrift lost his life from combat wounds on April 21, 2008, in Basrah, Iraq. The Leander High School honor grad only lived in the Hill Country for a few years before proceeding on to Texas A&M, where he graduated from the Mays School of Business with honors.

Matt Vandegrift was always a man on a mission according to high school buddy Josh Payne of Leander. Vandegrift and Payne became friends in middle school after they both moved in from other areas, Vandegrift from the Woodlands and Payne from California. Payne, a Leander Zoning Board member, offered the News an inside look at Vandegrift while driving back Monday from the memorial service held near Denver.

The two played football and Payne became the Leander Lions MVP after the 1998 season. Vandegrift never reached the goals he set for himself in football. Payne pointed out if Matt had been able to bite his tongue when his coaches offered help he might have done much better on the gridiron.

Matt didn't fit the stereotype of a typical football player as he spent much of his time in AP classes preparing to succeed in college, which he did. Payne told the News, “Matt was easily the smartest man I have ever met,” explaining it was the AP classes the two shared in high school which built their friendship.  

Payne and a large contingent of friends made the trip to Colorado for the memorial service on Monday. Included in the group making the trip were Seth Simmons, Tim Duniga, Danny Perez, Elliott Sanchez, James Twine and Alberto Resendez.

Matt's father, John, was also a Marine and his little brother Barrett is in the Air Force after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Showing that brains ran in the family, Barrett was the salutatorian from Cedar Park High School's first graduating class in 2001.

Vandegrift always wanted to be a Marine, but was forced to wait after graduating from A&M. He suffered torn ligaments in a flag football game shortly before graduating. Once he healed, he got his chance to serve, even learning enough Arabic to communicate with the Iraqi soldiers.

Matt trained Iraq police and felt good about their ability to fight and defend their country. He always hoped he could bring some of the Iraqi solders back to the U.S. to show them the type of country they could build if they stayed the course.

Vandegrift easily made friends with his Iraqi counterparts with his language skills. One Iraqi officer he became friends with had a nice pistol and was very proud it, but had no way to carry it. Matt asked his dad, John, the former Marine, if he could find a nice holster for his Iraqi friend. “He presented it as a token of their friendship and the respect they had for each other,” John Vandegrift said.

Payne said he and Matt had remained close through the years. After his tour of duty Matt planned to return to the Austin area to earn his MBA from the University of Texas.

Matt often put his personal life on hold. He had built a relationship with a girl who was attending Yale before he left for Iraq. Payne commented Matt was very picky about who he dated, “I always said he was looking for a Playboy Bunny with a 200 I.Q. Matt was always on a mission in his life, very religious and passionate about his Christianity.”

Matt was one of those men who had it all but chose to defend his country and ended up giving his life. The Vandegrift family has a history of serving our country. John summed it up when he told the Denver CBS affiliate, “Men and women in the military put their lives on the line every day. I can't think of a reason why my family should be exempt.”

Reader Comments