The story of how I met the great "Gunny"...Mr. R. Lee Ermey

Sunday, April 15, will forever be one of the saddest days of my life. Hearing on the news that Mr. R. Lee Ermey had passed away overwhelmed me with a sense of cold emptiness – our great country has lost one of its most ardent supporters…and I lost a friend. There are absolutely no words I can express of the difficulty I’m having at this very moment just putting these words on my computer monitor. Mr. R. Lee Ermey – the “Gunny” – was the finest man I’ve ever met…in my lifetime. Ask any military member, past or present, about him. He was a man whose larger-than-life image on the big and small screen was directly opposite in reality. In all the times we spoke over the phone or were together, I never once ever heard him raise his voice…ever. And the Gunny never met a G.I. he didn’t love. My God…the mere thought of never hearing his voice again fills me with a coldness I just cannot explain. A long, long time ago my hometown newspaper, The Woburn Times Chronicle, asked me to write an article about Lee. I sent them an article I wrote on my website…they went with it…about 2 and a ½ pages worth. Why? Because Mr. R. Lee Ermey is beloved all around the world. I’m a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and Vietnam Veteran. I spent 14 years training basic recruits at Lackland AFB during the 60s, 70s and early 80s, here, in San Antonio, Texas. So, when I retired I thought I’d write a book about training recruits. I actually started writing it in the mid-70s and it wasn’t until 2004 when I completed it and the book was finally published – Tuffy’s Heroes. Little did I know that Mr. Ermey would have an impact on my work. In 2005 I wrote a letter to him asking if I could send him a copy of my book. Ridiculous, right? I mean, what movie star is going to actually take the time to not only read your letter, but respond to it? But I’m talking about the man, the legend…R. Lee Ermey. Did he write back? No, he did not…he phoned me! I was so flustered, I couldn’t speak! He had to calm me down by telling me to breathe! Imagine, the Gunny telling me, to breathe! From that initial phone call, he would call me every now and then just to see how I was doing. During one of those phone calls I asked him if he would like to come to San Antonio and take part in our annual T.I. convention. He jumped on that! How was that even possible?! The troops loved him! They brought campaign hats for him to sign, which he did…and took pictures…with each and every one of them. R. Lee Ermey…the man…the myth…the legend. Several years later I rewrote my book and added about 100 more pages to it, and titled it: Tuffy’s Heroes Revised Edition. During one of our phone conversations he asked how my book was doing. I told him I had rewritten it and gave him the title. He asked me to send him a signed copy, which I did. About two months later he phoned me, and said, “Tuffy, go online and look up (name of a magazine), and go to page so-and-so. I’ll call you later tonight.” I mean, he was giddy about this. I looked up the magazine, went to the page he referenced, and there it was…a pic of Lee seated in a chair and reading my revised book. And there was also a Q&A about the book and myself. Once again, the Gunny had shocked me. Why would a famed film and TV star do all those things for someone he did not know and had never met? Well, that was the Gunny. You cannot possibly imagine how kind and gentle he was. And he would do anything within his power to help a G.I. Our great country and military have lost their strongest ambassador. At this moment I can hear his voice saying, “C’mon now Tuffy, breathe a little and let’s talk a bit, okay?” It is difficult for me to continue, although there is much more for me to say about Lee. I shall never forget him, nor shall the world…R. Lee Ermey…The Man…The Myth…The Legend…Out-Standing! Joe “Tuffy” Tofuri USAF MSGT, Retired