Their Story
Rodney Frank Svoboda was born on September 7, 1948, in Muscatine, Iowa,
the son of Clarence Raymond Svoboda and June (Klebe) Svoboda.[1] His father was a farmer.[2] To his friends and family, he was known as “Rocky”.
Rocky graduated from Westmer High School, in Joy, Illinois, June 11, 1966, and was at Camp Dewey Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois, in October 1966.[3]
Like other Fleet Marine Force Corpsmen, Rocky went through Navy Boot Camp, Hospital Corps School, and received his orders to the Fleet Marine Force. After Field Medical Service Training and his assimilation into the unique and proud Marine Corps culture he got his orders to Vietnam. In June of 1968, he was in Vietnam after having completed advanced medical training in Okinawa.[4] In Vietnam he was assigned to E Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and went into the field on patrol with them.
A hospital corpsman (HM3) is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who served in a U.S. Marine Corps unit.[5] Corpsmen in Vietnam were different from Corpsmen in previous conflicts. They carried weapons and fought alongside the Marines they served with. That is how Rocky was wounded on three different occasions for which he was awarded the Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze Star for bravery beyond the call of duty.
After Rocky returned home, he worked for a time for the State of Illinois as a breathalyzer inspector in the town of Justice, Cook County, Illinois, where he lived with his first wife, Jackie Poffenbarger.[6] They were married on July 28, 1973. Rocky returned to Muscatine, Iowa, and opened Rocky’s Heating and Cooling. He married Allie Hall Callear on July 17, 1993.[7] Allie preceded Rocky in death.
Rocky died on September 19, 2017, at the age of 69 at New Boston, Mercer County, Illinois. Rocky and Allie are both buried at Rock Island National Cemetery.
[1] PO Rodney Frank “Rocky” Svoboda (1948-2017) – Find a Grave Memorial
[2] 1950 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com
[3] Rocky at Boot Camp – Newspapers.com
[4] Rocky in Vietnam – Newspapers.com
[5] Hospital corpsman – Wikipedia
[6] 09 Aug 1973, 15 – The Rock Island Argus at Newspapers.com
References
Find a Grave, database, and images PO Rodney Frank “Rocky” Svoboda (1948-2017) – Find a Grave Memorial (accessed 11 October 2022)
1950 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com
09 Aug 1973, 15 – The Rock Island Argus at Newspapers.com
18 Jul 1993, 32 – The Dispatch at Newspapers.com
United States, Iowa, Muscatine, The Muscatine Journal, 1966 Oct 19, Page 12, Rocky at Boot Camp – Newspapers.com (Accessed 10/6/2022)
United States, Iowa, Muscatine, The Muscatine Journal and News-Tribune, 04 Jun 1968, Page 3 Rocky in Vietnam – Newspapers.com (Accessed 10/6/2022)
Wikipedia contributors, “Hospital corpsman,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Hospital corpsman – Wikipedia (Accessed 10/6/2022).