Marine Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey in dress blues (Courtesy Jack Ermey) By Ted Escobar PUNKIN CENTER — Actor R. Lee Ermey, who grew up here, is at rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He died on April 15, 2018, at age 74. Ermey’s ashes were interred on Jan. 18. 2019. There is an empty plot at his side, reserved for his wife, Nila. Fans of the rugged former U.S. Marine-turned-actor were saddened when word of R. Lee’s death spread across the Internet last year. And family, of course, was crushed. For Junior Ford (Houston Lee) of the White Swan-Harrah area, the news was “devastating.” Ermey’s life-long friend received a call from another friend. “He caught that terrible flu that swept across the country,” Ford said last year. “It led to double pneumonia. He couldn’t breathe Sunday morning (April 15, 2018). He died at about 2 in the morning.” “I got that same damn flu,” Ford added. “I had it for a couple of months. For a time, I thought I was a ...
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