THE WALL OF FACES

Dear Ssgt Gerard Porta, Thank you for your service as an Infantry Unit Leader. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Memorial Day just passed when our nation remembers your sacrifice. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

My Uncle, Jerry Paul Porta, who I never knew. My mother, Mary Porta (Mack), was his sister. She named me after him when I was born in 1963 and asked him to be my Godfather. We share a common middle name, Paul. May God bless him, his wife, his parents, children. his brothers and sisters, extended family, and all the Marines that served with him and under him. I have no doubt he was a good man and served his country with dignity and honor. Brian Paul Mack.

I was in Plt .2071, SSgt Porta came in right after we returned from the rifle range to replace another DI. That very first day he kicked our butts and didn't stop until graduation. We won final drill and he was really proud of that. He made a lot of good Marines and I am glad to one of them. Thankyou SSgt Porta, I will see you at the Pearly Gates!

SSgt. Porta. You were pulled from are platoon 2213 about 1/2 way through "boot". Said you were going to Nam. As I recall your wife was pregnant at the time.
While in Nam I was sqd. radio, I carried the PRC-25. I was calling for some arty and checking the map for a reference, I see a LZ Porta. Well thats not good but I was busy at the time. I forgot it. But now I see it was my DI. . Saddened to discover that. You were tough and strict. Just what a bunch of kids need. I joined with 4 others from IA. We all returned in one piece. Gotta credit the Marine Corps training and a bit of luck.

SSgt Porta was my DI (Platoon 2030-June 1966). He was my hero. I thought this very tough Marine was indestructible, invincible, that if anyone could help us make it back, this man could. To find out about a year ago that he, of all people, did not make it back was a heart-wrenching blow. I am so proud and honored to have known him, to have had him, out of the hundreds, maybe thousands of DIs training raw recruits, was a privilege and a God-send. His toughness, without a doubt, was instrumental in the survival of those he trained. He molded a young boy from South Texas into the man I grew up to be. I will always believe that because of him, I achieved so much more after I left my beloved Corps, than I ever could have. My most sincere condolences to his family. Semper Fidelis, SSgt Porta. We'll meet again someday, on the other side.