It’s a military motto that “no man is left behind.” And for a U.S. Marine from Missouri, who will be taken off life support Friday, his comrades in arms have been stopping by his hospital bed to say goodbye. Many of them are strangers but they all share the common bond of brotherhood in the military.
Phillip Rochette, 49, enlisted in the Marines out of high school. In early July he began having headaches and vomiting spells. His sister, Denise Rochette, called an ambulance. En route to the hospital, Rochette suffered a massive stroke, KTVI reported.
Denise Rochette posted her brother’s condition on Facebook. During a conversation with a Marine, she mentioned it would be nice if some fellow Marines paid him a visit. The Marine posted a photo of Rochette on Facebook and it was shared more than 1,000 times, KTVI reported.
For the past week, hundreds of Marines have been showing up at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Jeremy Kohler saw the post on Instagram and drove from Chicago on Thursday.
“It’s the end of his watch, time for him to go home, so we will take it from here,” Kohler told KTVI.
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