Chip joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served our country for 4 years, serving in Okinawa, Guam, Iwo Jima, Australia, Kuwait and Iraq. Chip was a sergeant in the infantry 1/5 Marines – the first Marine ground combat unit in Iraq during the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was a squad leader, certified scuba diver, and small arms instructor. Most recently, Chip was enrolled full time at the Del Tech Stanton Campus. He will fondly be remembered as a tough Marine, who looked out for his buddies, a generous friend who loved spending time with his friends, and a good-hearted son who loved his family. “Please also remember those who came back after combat and died from PTSD through suicide. My son, USMC Infantry Sgt Boyd “Chip” Wicks, Jr. died that way. After combat in Iraq from March – June 2003, he came back to the US and was discharged in October 2003. In February 2004 he committed suicide.
No one wants to seem to care about him or the others who have died from PTSD after Iraq combat. Because they didn’t die in a war zone or in uniform, they are forgotten, swept aside. They don’t fit in anywhere during the services – no one recalls these dead heroes, who also gave all. It’s like having a special needs child in your neighborhood – it’s someone else’s problem, it’s someone else’s heartache.” Boyd W. Wicks, Sr.
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