thedrifter
11-15-04, 06:31 AM
Corporal Smuckatelli Comes Calling
November 15, 2004
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by Bob Newman
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Not long ago, he jumped off of his tractor on the farm back in Nebraska. He closed and locked the door to his construction office in Boston. He parked his big rig out behind the garage in Miami and hopped out. He shut down his computer in East LA. He stacked the last lobster pot on the dock beside his boat in Thomaston, Maine. He closed on the final mortgage of the day in Denver. And he kissed his wife and children good-bye. He then put on his helmet, slid into his flak jacket, casually whipped his 100-pounds-plus pack onto his muscular back, picked up his weapon and ammo, and shot his way into history, leaving a trail of enemy bodies behind him from the halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli to the carcass-littered streets of Fallujah.
His name is Corporal Smuckatelli.
He is a young man, but he is old beyond his years. Death is his constant companion. The lines and scars etched into his face will not fade with time. His bright eyes shine at night like those of a leopard stalking some hapless prey. Filthy, exhausted and oftentimes bleeding, he doesn’t give a damn about what some Hollywood has-been or caterwauling trio of Dixie dimwits has to say about this, that or the other thing. He thinks only of one thing: accomplishing his mission with as many of his brother Marines still alive as possible. Thoughts of his family must wait until the job is done.
He’s a killer. As cold-blooded as they come, he doesn’t concern himself with the grim deeds he has done. There will be time for reflection later, but tears for the enemy will not be part of those afterthoughts. His tears he saves for his brothers who fell and not for those who foolishly opposed his will, for the enemy had it coming. Smuckatelli knows the enemy seeks martyrdom, and he is happy to arrange his opponent’s journey into the netherworld. Perhaps later in life, maybe in his middle-aged years, he will wake in a cold sweat screaming night after night. But the screams will not be an accounting for what he did in the war. They will be for his long-dead brothers and for Marines once again facing the beast. He prays he led and trained them well enough in earlier wars. He knows those he led in war in another lifetime are now the leaders themselves. He shouts orders and encouragement at the television when he sees Marines in combat. Yes, he knows they can’t hear him. Combat is quite loud, you see.
Wednesday was his birthday. He is 229 years old, but doesn’t look a day over 200. On 10 November 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the formation of two battalions of Marines. Little did those first Marines know that their Corps’ future would see them in every clime and place, from the Peking Legation, Belleau Wood, the Chosin Reservoir and Guadalcanal to Khe Sanh, Beirut, Mogadishu and Baghdad. Smuckatelli was there from the beginning.
Your country stands in awe of you, Corporal Smuckatelli, and the myriad battles you have fought and won. I, too, marvel at what you have done, and you know I wish I could be with you today. Although you don’t require the services of Gunny Newman anymore, my prayers are with you, and that’s pretty good ammo.
God bless the Marines. Long live the Corps. Death to those who oppose us and may our enemies’ souls suffer in the bowels of hell for eternity.
Bob Newman
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Bob Newman, a decorated, retired US Marine, is host of the “Gunny Bob Show” on Newsradio 850 KOA in Denver, and host of “Inhuman Newman’s Anger-Management Hour” on 630 KHOW, also in Denver. His “Global Positioning Statement,” a daily insider’s update on the war on terror, is carried by various Clear Channel radio stations from coast to coast. A ground-combat veteran, he is the director of international security & counterterrorism services for The GeoScope Group and is the military science & terrorism columnist for The Denver Daily News. He can be reached at bobnewman@clearchannel.com.
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/newman/2004/newman111504.htm
Ellie
November 15, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Bob Newman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, he jumped off of his tractor on the farm back in Nebraska. He closed and locked the door to his construction office in Boston. He parked his big rig out behind the garage in Miami and hopped out. He shut down his computer in East LA. He stacked the last lobster pot on the dock beside his boat in Thomaston, Maine. He closed on the final mortgage of the day in Denver. And he kissed his wife and children good-bye. He then put on his helmet, slid into his flak jacket, casually whipped his 100-pounds-plus pack onto his muscular back, picked up his weapon and ammo, and shot his way into history, leaving a trail of enemy bodies behind him from the halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli to the carcass-littered streets of Fallujah.
His name is Corporal Smuckatelli.
He is a young man, but he is old beyond his years. Death is his constant companion. The lines and scars etched into his face will not fade with time. His bright eyes shine at night like those of a leopard stalking some hapless prey. Filthy, exhausted and oftentimes bleeding, he doesn’t give a damn about what some Hollywood has-been or caterwauling trio of Dixie dimwits has to say about this, that or the other thing. He thinks only of one thing: accomplishing his mission with as many of his brother Marines still alive as possible. Thoughts of his family must wait until the job is done.
He’s a killer. As cold-blooded as they come, he doesn’t concern himself with the grim deeds he has done. There will be time for reflection later, but tears for the enemy will not be part of those afterthoughts. His tears he saves for his brothers who fell and not for those who foolishly opposed his will, for the enemy had it coming. Smuckatelli knows the enemy seeks martyrdom, and he is happy to arrange his opponent’s journey into the netherworld. Perhaps later in life, maybe in his middle-aged years, he will wake in a cold sweat screaming night after night. But the screams will not be an accounting for what he did in the war. They will be for his long-dead brothers and for Marines once again facing the beast. He prays he led and trained them well enough in earlier wars. He knows those he led in war in another lifetime are now the leaders themselves. He shouts orders and encouragement at the television when he sees Marines in combat. Yes, he knows they can’t hear him. Combat is quite loud, you see.
Wednesday was his birthday. He is 229 years old, but doesn’t look a day over 200. On 10 November 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the formation of two battalions of Marines. Little did those first Marines know that their Corps’ future would see them in every clime and place, from the Peking Legation, Belleau Wood, the Chosin Reservoir and Guadalcanal to Khe Sanh, Beirut, Mogadishu and Baghdad. Smuckatelli was there from the beginning.
Your country stands in awe of you, Corporal Smuckatelli, and the myriad battles you have fought and won. I, too, marvel at what you have done, and you know I wish I could be with you today. Although you don’t require the services of Gunny Newman anymore, my prayers are with you, and that’s pretty good ammo.
God bless the Marines. Long live the Corps. Death to those who oppose us and may our enemies’ souls suffer in the bowels of hell for eternity.
Bob Newman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Newman, a decorated, retired US Marine, is host of the “Gunny Bob Show” on Newsradio 850 KOA in Denver, and host of “Inhuman Newman’s Anger-Management Hour” on 630 KHOW, also in Denver. His “Global Positioning Statement,” a daily insider’s update on the war on terror, is carried by various Clear Channel radio stations from coast to coast. A ground-combat veteran, he is the director of international security & counterterrorism services for The GeoScope Group and is the military science & terrorism columnist for The Denver Daily News. He can be reached at bobnewman@clearchannel.com.
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/newman/2004/newman111504.htm
Ellie