Hello everyone. My name is Gene, and Eddie was my good friend.
I first talked to Eddie almost exactly 5 years ago to this day. It was several months before we all started business school at University of Washington. There was a class Facebook page that was created to allow everyone who had been enrolled into the program to meet each other. I was looking through posts and profiles, and one particular picture stood out. It was of a Marine standing in the desert night in full kit. A young man dressed in full combat utilities, flak jacket, night vision, and armed with an M16 and a bayonet strapped to his side.
For those who may not know, one of Eddie’s numerous life’s accomplishments was service to his country as a United States Marine. He served overseas in Al Anbar Province in 2005 during the height of the Iraq War as a heavy equipment operator and turret gunner in a combat logistics battalion.
Becoming a Marine and serving one’s country during a time of war is a transformative and life-altering experience. Most recruits who go through Marine Corps bootcamp are merely teenagers; just like Eddie was when he went through recruit training. But the Corps’ historic legacy of shared hardship and experiences is the bedrock of its brotherhood, which spans past, present, and future. There was a well-known scene in the movie Full Metal Jacket when the characters graduate bootcamp. On graduation day, the drill instructor has his platoon in formation and announces to them:
Today, you people are no longer maggots. Today, you are Marines. You’re part of a brotherhood. From now on until the day you die, wherever you are, every Marine is your brother.
Before business school, I had recently left the Marine Corps. So, I was very thankful there was another Marine veteran in the class. Like so many others, I had found brother in Eddie. When I first met Eddie, he was already several years removed from service and already had foundations of a successful career in consulting. Naturally, I looked to Eddie to help navigate the system, and in the early days of business school, Eddie was not only a friend, but also a life-coach.
During B-school orientation when the class first met, several of us went out to grab a few drinks. We actually ended up having a lot of drinks. When the night was over, we were all walking back to Mike Lin’s apartment. As we were walking back, Eddie wanted to Fireman’s carry everyone. For those of you who don’t know, Fireman’s carry is a technique, widely employed in combat and training, to carry a wounded comrade on one’s shoulders. Eddie, who was pretty trashed at the time, carried several of us down multiple blocks on his shoulders while screaming SEMPER FI at the top of his lungs. Semper Fi is short for Semper Fidelis, which is the motto of the Marine Corps and is Latin for Always Faithful.
At the time, one might dismiss this behavior as just some alcohol-induced silliness. But this was analogous to who Eddie was as a person. During his service, Eddie had Semper Fi tattooed on his arm, and they were words that he lived by... not just in a military context, but it was applied to everything he did. Eddie had a HUGE heart, and he is one of the most loyal, generous, and selfless people that I’ve ever met. He would always answer the call and would carry his friends, family, loved ones, and even strangers on his shoulders regardless of whether he’d tire as a result. Eddie helped immensely with my transition into the civilian workforce. Looking back at old messages, he was always so organized and laser focused on achieving his goals and helping others achieve theirs. Before our first year of school had even started, and before he even met anyone, he was already reaching out to veterans in our class and coordinating our trip to the annual MBA Veterans conference in Chicago.
Thanks to Eddie, most of the vets in our class attended this conference, and thanks again to Eddie, most were able to leverage it to secure their summer internships. While we were there, the conference featured a keynote speaker: a veteran who is now an executive at a Bay Area tech company. His primary message was that as veterans in the civilian workforce, it was our duty to answer the call from our brothers and sisters in arms who are transitioning out of the military and assist them in their search for employment with both empathy and enthusiasm. He was basically saying that we must look after our own. After the conference, a few of us wrote to this man with hopes of receiving some mentorship or guidance, but he didn’t respond to any of us. Eddie was pretty disappointed, but it didn’t stop there.
Eddie knew that loyalty, commitment, and service weren’t just things that you talk about from a podium when you become rich and successful. He knew that it was the actions and the relationships that we honored that truly mattered. So, he decided to establish an official organization at our school to advocate for military veterans and help guide the transitioning veterans into the workforce. His words are written in the organization’s mission statement: “to enhance camaraderie and esprit de corps through service to eachother, the School, and the community in which we study and live.” It was a mission of service and loyalty. During business school, Eddie also worked as a peer mentor and he would go great lengths to help his classmates write resumes and cover letters so that they can achieve their goals. He even volunteered as an instructor for the Junior Achievement organization where he would teach financial literacy to kids.
Eddie lived his life with such vigor and enthusiasm. There is a quote from the classic children’s book, The Little Prince, which says the following:
All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.
However, this didn’t really apply to Eddie. The way that he approached his ambitions, his passions, his love, his friends, and his life were with a childlike energy, enthusiasm, and determination. Hobbies that he would engage in ranged from trying to drift his white Honda accord, riding motorcycles, cliff diving in foreign countries, playing slightly immature practical jokes on his friends, competitive power lifting, Brazilian jiu jitsu. Even as a 30+ year old man who got a job as a commercial banker, he had bought a skateboard and would go to the local skate parks and ride around with 12 year old kids.
He was never one to be discouraged by “grownup” warnings given by naysayers like, “I dunno… that business idea sounds pretty risky/stupid.” Others may say, “are you sure you’re not jumping into this relationship too quickly.” Eddie didn’t give a crap about any of it. Regardless of what others said, he often did things his way and he did it with conviction. He knew that life was about taking chances and relishing in the moment. He was a go-hard who invested 100% into everything he set his mind to.
When Eddie was in B-school, he and a few other classmates came up with a business plan for a class project around this online professional networking platform (think Linkedin + Tinder + Maps). The idea was to allow professionals to meet and network while if they were new to an area (for example, if one was visiting a tradeshow or conference they can set up dinner/drinks afterwards to connect). After the class and the project were over, Eddie was still invested in this idea. He called up his best friend/software engineer Peter Oh to convince him that this was a great idea and that they should bootstrap a startup company. It was called “Table for Fun,” and they worked on this idea for several weeks outside of class and work. He was making logos, pitch decks, financial models, and thinking about what furniture to buy for their start up office. Unfortunately, the idea didn’t take off as Eddie had predicted.
But there was another instance that things did work out for Eddie. When he first met Anna, he told his friends, “Guys… I started dating this girl and I think I won the lottery.” He said, “She’s the cutest, smartest, and funniest girl.” He pretty much fell in love with her the first day they met. Given Eddie’s penchant for going hard and diving head first into things, a lot of his friends were all like, “okay whatever… sure Eddie.” But, he was right. He had met his soul mate in Anna who was Eddie’s true love: a light to Eddie through all of his days.
Eddie was a perpetual optimist. When reflecting on Eddie’s life, several friends noted that this man was never defeated. Regardless of obstacle or hardship, Eddie was never dejected, never conquered. At times, he would get frustrated. But rather than giving up, as many people would, he’d always be thinking of he could do to right the situation. To him, everything was a challenge that could be solved if he just worked hard enough. He had an undying belief that there was something greater in store and that things will only get better (like the Alicia Keys song). After Eddie was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, I visited him in the hospital for the first time. He was with Anna and his parents, and everyone looked concerned. Eddie was looking gaunt and tired, dressed in a hospital gown, and was hooked up to all sorts of tubing and bags of fluids. Seeing one of my best friend in such a state was heartbreaking. I didn’t really know what to say. But then, Eddie said, “Hey man, you hungry? I got some Taco Supremes if you want one.”
This was classic Eddie. I was thinking, “wow… seriously?” Even when faced with his own mortality and struggling through an infinitely perilous journey, he would asked his friend whether he wants a Taco and offers him a beverage. Eddie was one of the bravest, toughest, and most resilient people I had ever met. Even more so, when I see the kind of friend he was, the husband he was, the son he was, it was this responsibility and devotion to others that were hallmarks of his great character.
Victor Frankl, who was a survivor of the Nazi deathcamps and renowned psychologist once said:
Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only respond by being responsible.
I believe this was the legacy of our friend Eddie. He was a man who not only felt, but also cherished his responsibility towards others. He had a desire to carry others on his shoulders and help bear the load of friendship. It was the mark of a true leader who inspired and brought out the best in those around him. A loving son and husband, a devoted friend, an international gentleman, and an eternal brother.
Exactly one week before his passing, Eddie texted me something that I’ll remember forever. He simply said, “We’ll hang out again. And that’ll be a good day.”
Eddie, I know we’ll meet again someday, and we’ll have many things to catch up on. Your life and legacy has touched us all, and you will live on within each of us. Until we meet again, we will all carry your torch and live by your example. We will do our best to live with great responsibility, loyalty, and utmost enthusiasm for life. My friend, your duty is done… Semper Fidelis.
Eulogy 5.3.16
