December 8th 1941
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

November 22nd 1963
Walter Cronkite
"In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas...President Kennedy died at 1:00 P.M. Central Standard Time, two o'clock Eastern Standard Time."

September 11th 2001
Andy Card, White House Chief of Staff
"A second plane has hit the tower, America is under attack."

September 11th 2001
Michelle, My Wife
"Wake up honey, a plane crashed into the World Trade Center."

Did we ever really get out? Over 20 years later I still have the Corps deep in my bones. I still get a stirring in my heart when I hear The Marine’s Hymn or even when someone mentions Chesty Puller.

 

My MOS of 4063 Mainframe Programmer is now obsolete. However the essential Corps Values are very much alive.

 

When I first got out I had some difficulty finding a job. Work wasn’t the problem. I had a hard time relating to civilian bosses and coworkers. I was used to the outstanding leadership and Gung-Ho spirit that we find in the Corps. Did you know that civilians will actually quit work after 8 hours, even if the job is still not done!

Man has had weapons since we picked up our first crude spear. The Marine Corps demands that we have more than weapons proficiency. The defense of our Nation demands it. Our Beloved Corps trains the individual to be the weapon. Recruit Training smashes the soft shell away from you and reaches deep down inside to bring out the fierce Warrior.

Parris Island 1983. Once you are on the Yellow Footprints, you really can’t tell what year it is. Generations of civilians have raised their right hand and taken their place to be ruthlessly hammered and tested. The chance to Earn the Title of Marine.

"Man it's hot. It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot." - Biloxi Blues

 

But it wasn’t Biloxi. It was high summer at the Fort Benning Georgia rifle range. Being that we had no range of our own in MCLB Albany, the Marine Corps bought us a week of training time on the Army Base.

 

“Leave a place cleaner that you found it,” is one of our Corps’ principals. Someone blabbed and told the Army this, so they assigned us the nastiest barracks on the base. Before we even pulled our gear off the bus, we spent 3 hours squaring away our new home for the week. We would spend another 3 hours on field day before we left. Their barracks had never looked so good in twenty years.

I had a great conversation with a friend of mine over dinner. We have known each other for 6 years but she still did not really know much about my Marine Corps experience. That night after cocktails I let it all out...