Full Military Honors for R. Lee Ermey at Arlington January 18
R. Lee Ermey will be laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at 10:00 a.m. January 18, 2019.
Ronald Lee Ermey (Gunnery Sgt. Hartman from Full Metal Jacket and reality TV) was born in Kansas but moved to the Yakima Valley in his early teens going to schools in Granger while the rest of his family attended classes in Zillah. A feisty kid with a penchant for getting into trouble, when he was 17, a judge offered him juvenile detention or the military. Ermey chose the Marines.
You may recall he died back in April but his Arlington Cemetery full service veteran funeral is scheduled for January 18th.
All five of his brothers served in Vietnam including two others in the Marines, two in the Air Force and one in the Army.
Even though he was incredibly successful in reality TV, he believes he was blacklisted from Hollywood for criticizing President Barack Obama.
He only made staff sergeant but the Marine Corps made him honorary Gunnery Sergeant.
He was a real drill sergeant from 1965-67 training new recruits, in 1967 he served in Okinawa, Japan then went on to Vietnam for the next 14 months. He sustained a number of injuries including being hit by a rocket during combat, and that led to him being medically and honorably discharged in 1971.
He then moved to the Philippines, acted in some films, went to college majoring in criminology, and married his wife. He was also recruited to be in Apocalypse Now.