Michigan Spirit Quest #24 - "Remembering One" Multi-Cache

The Michigan Spirit Quest series of geocaches will take you to a number of historic cemeteries built by MICHIGAN Pioneers. This series is inspired by and a continuation of the Indiana Spirit Quest caches created by SixDogTeam. In just over two and a half years, the SPIRIT QUEST has grown to over five hundred and fifty caches and the hiders have grown to twenty-five cacher teams in 3 states and one province, most of which are comprised of Dogs and their Humans. Over 1,000 cachers have logged over 20,000 finds. One cache machine found 102 ISQ caches in a single day (daylight hours only).

(Photos by PairOMedicChick)

Welcome to Hicks Cemetery, Pennfield Township, Calhoun County, MI.
There appear to be a number of veterans resting here, from a variety of conflict and times. But today, I’d like to welcome The Herd, who would like to share some history with us, and a cache to honor one very special of the fallen.
While I don’t know just how many men and women served in Vietnam, I do know the story of one. A life that ended all too soon, like many that served in that war. This is the story of my Uncle Dickie.
Richard C. White was born in 1948, not far from his final resting place. He was the first born to Richard and Audrey White and, I am sure, was much dotted upon. Richard was always a happy kid, loving to stay busy. I can imagine his joy when his family grew to 3 more children over the next few years. He spent many days fishing and hunting with his brother Bill, my father. They loved spending every moment they could together, living life as best that two young brothers could.
Richard, or as those that knew him, “Dickie”, graduated in 1966. Long before he actually graduated, he had signed up to join the Coast Guard. At the time, there was a 2 year waiting list to get into this branch of the military, so he signed up early, to insure he would depart following his graduation. He left right away. Dickie trained to be a RD1 (radarman 1st class) on high endurance ships, before shipping out. He loved his work, and was proud to serve. This showed when his first tour in Nam ended. Dickie was going to be sent home, but he really didn’t want this. He fought with officials to stay there. After several letters to congressman and senators, he was allowed to stay another tour. After his second tour ended, his relief ship broke down en route. This meant that all the soldiers coming home were forced to stay and serve an “extended tour.” I can imagine that Dickie really didn’t mind this.
Upon returning home in 1970, Dickie left the service. It was during this time that he met the woman who would soon become his wife, Gayle. Dickie just couldn’t keep the service out of his heart though, and reenlisted in 1972. For a short stint, he was stationed in New York, before being transferred to Sault St. Marie, Michigan. In 1972, Gayle gave birth to their first child, Richard Lee. Dickie was so proud of his son, and strived to do all he could to provide for his family. A year and a half later, Heather was born.
It was a tragic night in 1975 that Dickie was involved in a horrific drunk driving accident. While it was no secret that my uncle liked to drink, and drink heavily, it was the drunk driver traveling at speeds over 90 mph. that killed him. My father remembers going to the accident scene, and finding my uncles glasses on the engine block. The hood had been ripped off. The glasses ripped from his face, the lenses knocked out. I can only imagine the pain my father suffered standing next to his only brother’s car at the scene. A car my father had bought him. The man that hit him was in the Air Force, stationed at the nearby Kinslow Air Base. The woman in the man’s vehicle survived, both men were killed immediately.
Richard, Dickie, White died much too young. He left behind a wife and two small children. Richard Lee was 3, little Heather only 6 months old. He left behind 2 sisters and a brother, as well as nieces and nephews, all of whom were honored to know him. Uncle Dickie died the year before I was born, but has always been a part of my life. I, too, would have been honored to have met him.
While hunting this cache, please take the time to remember ALL those that served in this war. Those that lost their lives there, as well as state side, those that are still with us, and those that never returned.

The posted coordinates will take you to Dickie’s headstone. From there, you will need to do the following math: Take the day of the month that Dickie was born. Multiply it by 3, and add it to the posted North coordinates. Then take Dickie’s age at death, add 3, and multiply by the number of month he died in (Jan is 1, Feb 2, etc.) Add this to the posted West coordinates. The resulting numbers should take you to the final, assuming that neither you nor I made any mistakes.
Enjoy sometime walking around this cemetery, which actually straddles this very busy road. Please use caution near the road - some of these drivers think they're the ones racing!

A very interesting marker... And very appropriate for the nearby road.

The cache container is a medium lock-n-lock. Cache started with a pencil, but be safe: BYOP. The cache is not located near a grave... If you find a fallen US flag, please stick it back in the ground or replace it. As always, please be respectful, and cache in, trash out. Say a prayer for our brave troops, fighting overseas. God Bless America!

MSQ caches are brought to you by the following fellows of GEOMSQ: SixDogTeam (Earthdog Patrick, Lead Dog, Wheel Dog), Wolverine Warriors, The Outcaches, SafariBob & Tweety, Cyclops and Pairomedicchick. If you are interested in spreading the Quest to your neck of the woods AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, email Wolverine Warriors.

*Grand Exalted Order of the Michigan Spirit Quest*

** THIS IS A GENUINE MICHIGAN SPIRIT QUEST CACHE**