THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Three weeks into his recovery from a debilitating stroke, Bobby Donald Diaz, 79, had one request from his hospital bed at Memorial Hermann: He wanted his family to find a few old Marine buddies to pay a visit and help cheer him up.
Social media and a Marine Corps brotherhood have turned that into more than 100 visits so far.
"Hey! Semper Fi brother," could be heard again and again in room W6246 Monday afternoon.
"We've come to get you well," said a Marine visitor who was meeting Bobby Diaz for the first time.
"Nothing more important than a brother. Semper Fi," another said.
"I appreciate you coming," Diaz said.
"I just heard there was a fellow brother in here and I wanted to come check on you and make sure you're all right," the next Marine said.
"I'm doing fine," Diaz told them. "Couldn't be a nicer bunch of people to support you."
Marines have stormed into Diaz's recovery room as if on a mission.
His story is being shared on social media, including Marine Corps-dedicated sites. Few, if any, of the Marines coming to the hospital have met him before. They bring gifts, laughter and encouragement. And his family says it is making a difference.
"It's bringing his spirit up highly. Very good, very good for him," his son Tony Diaz said.
"It's astonishing. I had no idea this could happen," Diaz's wife Marilyn said. "I just didn't know how strong they really were. I should have. But being married to one for 40 years I should have known that."
"It just goes to show you, Marine Corps: once a brother, always a brother, no matter what," the Korean War veteran said. "When you feel bad, you can't feel bad because all your brothers are here."
"There's a lot of loneliness in the world," said visitor and three-time Purple Heart recipient Albert Moguel. "This guy asked for Marines to visit him. So I challenged my other fellow Marines to visit him. I'm pretty sure it will be (more) crowded later."
There's no guarantee Bob Diaz will pull through this. That's the nature of strokes. That's the nature of life. He's currently receiving medicine to reduce swelling in his brain. The stroke has caused weakness on the left side of his body. But the steady stream of Marines visiting his hospital room say that in the Marines you go in together and you go out together: You don't leave anybody behind. So Marines, from across Houston and across the country, will keep storming his hospital room until this old Marine goes home.
"It makes me feel good to know that there is still the brotherhood of the Marine Corps," Diaz said.
Then, late Monday afternoon, the visiting Marines found out there was another serviceman in a room two doors down. They stormed his room for a heavy dose of brotherhood and encouragement, too.
Oorah!
