Vietnam Veteran died trying to stop bank robbery at 80 in Reno

Marine who tried to stop bank robbery honored posthumously in Reno
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RCJ.com
Written by Emerson Marcus
Jan. 15, 2014

A lot has been said about Charles Sperry’s Marine service.

The 80-year-old man killed trying to stop a bank robbery in Reno last October served 26 years as a Marine.

Once he left the Corps, though, he served his community.

That service was honored when Reno police Chief Steve Pitts presented Sperry’s widow and son the Chief’s Medal of Commendation during Wednesday’s Reno City Council meeting.

“He was a Marine, and that was first,” Sperry’s son, Joe Sperry, said. “But I didn’t grow up with him when he was in the Marines, and I saw the father and protector part of him. We always communicated and made sure he knew what was going on around the community. He wanted to take care of it the best he could.”

Years after serving during the Vietnam War and reaching the rank of major, Sperry headed his neighborhood watch program near his home in the Donner Springs area where he lived for more than 30 years.
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