thedrifter
01-03-03, 06:39 AM
Remarks by COL "Irish" Egan, USMC (Ret.) at PAC Marine Corps Ball.
Marine Corps Birthday 2002
LADIES, GENTLEMEN, HONORED GUESTS, MARINES; FIRST OF ALL, I MUST TELL YOU THAT I AM DEEPLY MOVED AND HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE MARINES AND SAILORS OF EWTGPac TONIGHT. IT IS ALSO FITTING THAT WE CELEBRATE WITH OUR NAVY BRETHREN; AFTER ALL, WE ARE THE BOAT PEOPLE. THE STEEL OF THE NAVY-MARINE CORPS TEAM HAS BEEN HONED IN COUNTLESS FIGHTS IN EVERY CLIME AND PLACE. IN A WORLD OF UNPRECEDENTED POLITICAL INSTABILITY, THE POTENTIAL FOR EMPLOYMENT OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS TEAM IS EVER PRESENT. WHEREVER SALT WATER CAN REACH, IN ANY OCEAN OF THE WORLD - MARINES AND SAILORS ARE ON-WATCH AND READY. THERE WILL BE NO QUESTION THAT THEY ARE READY TO DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS, WHEREVER THEY ARE THREATENED.
I ALSO REALLY ENVY THIS OUTFIT WORKING FOR THE LIKES OF HIMSELF: COL RIC WEST and COL JEFF POWERS : TWO MEN ABANDONED BY WOLVES AND RAISED BY THEIR PARENTS...I KNOW THAT HE'S THE TYPE OF LEADER WHO I WOULD FOLLOW INTO HELL ITSELF JUST TO WATCH HIM MAKE THE DEVIL DANCE!!!
YOU KNOW, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHERE WE CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAY. IN A GRAND BALLROOM WITH A CLOSE COMPANION BY OUR SIDE OR IN A DARK, MUDDY FOXHOLE IN SOME 3RD WORLD ****HOLE WITH A MATCH STUCK IN AN MRE CHOCOLATE DEATH CAKE, THE SENTIMENT IS THE SAME. OF COURSE, YOU WILL AGREE IT'S ALWAYS A NICER EVENT WITH APPROPRIATE LIBATIONS.
OUR GATHERING THIS EVENING REPRESENTS THAT ELITE FRATERNITY OF CITIZENS WHO HAS PUT OUR NATION FIRST. YOU HAVE EACH GIVEN UP YOUR MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY - YOUR TIME. NO ONE CAN EVER GIVE THAT BACK. [24 hours in a day, and 24 beers to a case - coincidence? I think not!]
YOU EACH REALIZE THAT OUR NATION MAY PERISH BECAUSE TOO FEW OF OUR PEOPLE KNOW WHAT FREEDOM REALLY COSTS. IT DOESN'T COME WITHOUT SACRIFICE, OFTEN ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. IN OUR HISTORY AS A NATION ONLY 4 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED "MARINE." IN EACH GENERATION THE MARINES HAVE FOUND THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE BRAVE. IT IS THIS BROTHERHOOD OF MARINES THAT HAS STOOD TOGETHER NOT ONLY IN THE PRIDE OF OUR NATION'S AND CORPS'S GREAT VICTORIES, BUT ALSO IN THE PAIN OF DEATH. THE MARINE CORPS HAS BEEN BETTING ITS HONOR, ITS MISSION AND THE COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL HIDES OF ITS MEMBERS FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES ON THE PREMISE THAT TEENAGED MARINE PRIVATES WHO ARE AS GREEN AS THEIR FIELD UNIFORMS CAN BE TRUSTED ABSOLUTELY TO RISE TO THE DEMANDS OF THEIR DUTY. AT THE COST, IF NECESSARY, OF THEIR LIVES. THINK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT THE IWO JIMA MEMORIAL IN WASH, D.C., THE MOST FAMOUS MONUMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE WORDS INSCRIBED IN STONE ARE 'UNCOMMON VALOR WAS A COMMON VIRTUE." IT DOESN'T SAY, "IT WAS EASY...."
AS I LOOK BACK I THINK OF HOW LUCKY WE ALL ARE TO BE HERE TONIGHT. MANY OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES ARE NOT. THEY NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO FULFILL THEIR DREAMS, AND IT IS IN THEIR MEMORY AND THAT OF COUNTLESS OTHER MARINES THAT WE HONOR THIS EVENING. DESPITE A LOT OF HOLLYWOOD HOORAH AND HYPE TO THE CONTRARY, THE MARINE CORPS DOES NOT RECRUIT ROCKET SCIENTISTS OR IN
MONESTERIES, SO WHY ARE WE SURPRISED THAT A YOUNG MARINE LIKES TO FIGHT, RAISE HELL AND CHASE MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
OUR SECRET IS THAT WE CAN TAKE ORDINARY YOUNG AMERICANS AND TEACH THEM THAT IF THEY WILL WORK TOGETHER AND DEPEND UPON EACH OTHER TOTALLY, THEY CAN WORK MIRACLES. THAT TRUST, THAT CONFIDENCE IN OTHERS DEPENDABILITY, THAT SURE KNOWLEDGE THAT DOWN IN THE CRUNCH, IS THE INDIVIDUAL MARINES' SWORD AND SHIELD.
MARINE DRILL INSTRUCTORS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MASTERS OF AN UNFAILING ALCHEMY WHICH CONVERTS DISORIENTED YOUTHS INTO PROUD, LEAN, SELF-RELIANT CITIZENS - INTO WHOSE HANDS OUR NATION'S MOST SENSITIVE AND CRITICAL AFFAIRS CAN BE ENTRUSTED. EVERY ONE OF US SHED THE VESTIGES OF CIVILIAN LIFE AND STOOD BEWILDERED ON THE YELLOW FOOTPRINTS AND WONDERED WHAT THE HELL WE WERE DOING, WHILE SOME MANIAC BERATED OUR FAMILY LINEAGE - UNLESS YOU WENT TO BOOT CAMP IN SAN DIEGO, OF COURSE, WHERE THEY NEVER RAISE THEIR VOICE. YOU KNOW, AT PARRIS ISLAND, WHEN WE MEMORIZED THE GENERAL ORDERS, YA HAD TO SAY 'EM BEFORE A MATCH BURNED DOWN, BUT I HEAR TELL THAT IN SD THEY USE A FLASHLIGHT AND WAIT FOR THE BATTERIES TO RUN OUT!!!
EACH GENERATION OF MARINES SINCE 1775 HAS FACED CHALLENGES. YOUR GENERATION IS NO EXCEPTION. WE MARINES KNOW WHEN WE TAKE THE OATH OF ENLISTMENT THAT THE TASK THAT AWAITS US WILL NOT BE EASY.
THIS IS INDEED A DIFFICULT TIME FOR OUR NATION AND OUR CORPS. MAKE NO MISTAKE; WE ARE AT WAR WITH AN ELUSIVE AND DETERMINED ENEMY. I SPENT MY ENTIRE CAREER FIGHTING THE EVIL EMPIRE, AKA COMMUNISM, AND WAS VERY PROUD TO DO SO. AMERICA WON THAT FIGHT AGAINST A VERY TOUGH OPPONENT. IT TOOK GREAT EFFORT AND MANY YEARS OF SUSTAINED VIGILANCE AND SACRIFICE BY SO MANY WHOSE NAMES WE WILL NEVER KNOW. YOUR NATION NEEDS YOUR SKILLS NOW MORE THAN EVER. THIS CAMPAIGN WILL BE LONG AND ARDUOUS, AND I KNOW YOU WILL MORE THAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE. OLD OSAMA, SADDAM AND THEIR PECKER-HEAD RUNNING MATES ARE GONNA BE IN A WORLD OF HURT, THAT'S FOR SURE.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU ARE ALL JOINED TOGETHER ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY, THE MEMORY OF WHICH WILL LAST FOREVER. THERE WILL BE AS MANY WONDERFUL MOMENTS AND GREAT SEA STORIES OF WHO YOU WERE AND WHAT YOU DID, THE RULES YOU BROKE, AND THE SCAMS YOU PULLED, AS THERE ARE MARINES ON THE MORNING REPORT. HELL, LETS ADMIT IT, SOME OF US ARE JUST INCIDENT REPORTS WAITING FOR A DATE-TIME-GROUP.
REMEMBER: * TELLING MOM AND DAD AND FAMILY THAT YOU ARE ENLISTING AND SEEING DAD'S EYES WELL UP WITH UNABASHED PRIDE AND THE LOOK OF WORRY COME OVER MOMS FACE BECAUSE SHE KNOWS WHAT MARINES DO..AND WHERE HER BABY WILL BE GOING * THE INITIAL SILENCE AND UNEASY JOKES AS THE BUS ENTERS THE MCRD GATE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT * THE FIRST SHATTERING LOOK AT WHAT USED TO BE * OPEN SQUAD-BAYS, LINED UP ROWS OF LOCKER BOXES AND DOUBLE-DECK STEEL COTS, AND SIDE-BYSIDE CRAPPERS BECAUSE MODESTY IS A THING OF THE PAST * THE QUICK FLICKER OF TIME BETWEEN TAPS AND THAT AWFUL SOUND OF A METAL ****CAN ROLLING DOWN THE CENTER OF THE SQUADBAY ACCOMPANIED BY THAT AWFUL BRAYING OF "GET UP, GET UP AND LOCK YOUR BODY!" * FEET ACHING FROM HOURS ON THE GRINDER, LICKIN AND STICKIN AND MAGGIES DRAWERS * COUNTLESS PUSHUPS AND A STRANGE NEW SOUND AS REAL BULLETS PASS CLOSE OVERHEAD * THE DOWNRIGHT HAUNTING BEAUTY OF CADENCE SUNG BY UNSEEN VOICES * CORFAMS ON LIBERTY IN A STRANGE NEW TOWN ("HOW DIDJA KNOW I WAS A MARINE?") * LONG WEARY HOURS OF FIELD DAYS, FORMATIONS, AND WAITING FOR THE WORD THAT ALWAYS CHANGES * THE SMELL OF THE INSIDE OF A GP TENT ON A HOT AFTERNOON * LISTER BAGS AND CHOW LINES, AND, "SPREAD OUT, *******IT!!" * LONG HUMPS AT NIGHT AND SLEEPING ON COLD, ROCKY GROUND, FOOT POWDER, MOLESKIN, ACHING BLISTERED FEET,THE SOFT GREY LIGHT OF DAWN MIXED WITH CLEARED THROATS, LOUD FARTS AND WRY COMMENTARY: "COME ON YOU SCROUNGY RAT BASTARDS, TIME TO RISE AND SHINE AND BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF ANOTHER GRAND AND GLORIOUS DAY IN OUR BELOVED CORPS!" * BOOT LIEUTENANTS WHO AIN'T EVEN SHAVING YET AND COMPANY GUNNIES OLDER THAN DIRT AND HARDER THAN WOODPECKER LIPS * THE WHINE OF ROTOR BLADES AND OVERPOWERING SMELL OF JP5; DOOR GUNNERS AND .50 CALS READY TO ROCK AND ROLL * MREs, TABASCO, AND CHOCOLATE DEATH CAKE, * THE OLD SLIT TRENCH AND THE JOYS OF INDOOR PLUMBING * UNDERSTANDING THE PUCKER FACTOR: WHERE THE MORE HAIRY THE SITUATION, THE TIGHTER YOUR SPHINCTER GETS, THE FORMULA IS: S=Suction+ H=Hairy situation +I=Interest in staying alive +T=Tracers coming your way [BEST EXPRESSED AS ****!!!] * CURIOUS BLENDS OF MONOTONY, TENSION, PHYSICAL EXERTION AND A SPECIAL SORT OF DISCIPLINE THAT OTHER SERVICES CAN ONLY ENVY.
AND IF ALL THESE THINGS WHICH WE ALL SHARED, CAN - BY SOME MINDLESS LOGIC OF A WITLESS ****ANT WHO IS COMPLETELY IGNORANT OF WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT - BE CALLED JUST ANOTHER JOB, THEN I DON'T KNOW **** FROM APPLE BUTTER.
IN ALL HONESTY, I WILL NOT TELL YOU THAT EVERY DAY IN THE CORPS IS GREAT. THERE ARE CERTAINLY PEAKS AND VALLEYS...NOT BEING SELECTED FOR A SCHOOL OR PROMOTION; SEEING SOMEONE ELSE GET THE COMMAND THAT YOU WORKED SO HARD FOR; STANDING AT ATTENTION LISTENING TO THE MOURNFUL SOUND OF TAPS BEING PLAYED AT THE FUNERAL OF A CLOSE FRIEND OR BROTHER MARINE; BUT THE PEAKS MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR ANY DISAPPOINTMENT.
* BEING ENTRUSTED WITH THE MANTLE OF COMMAND
* KNOWING THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING DOES AFFECT THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION, OUR CORPS AND YOUR FAMILY
* GETTING A MARINE BACK ON TRACK AFTER THEY STEP ON THEIR SWORD, THEN SEEING THAT YOUNG MARINE YEARS LATER AS A SNCO AND KNOWING THAT YOU MADE THE RIGHT CALL WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WANTED THEM TO BURN.
I AM NOT NAIVE, AND ALSO KNOW THE WIVES GO THRU SOME GUT WRENCHING FEELINGS; MINE SURELY HAS...WHEN YOU DISLIKE THE CORPS FOR WHAT IT DOES TO US AND TO YOU... * THE TRIPS THAT WERE CANCELLED AT THE 11TH HOUR FOR WHAT AT THE TIME SEEMED LIKE SUCH A BOGUS REASON, MISSED BIRTHDAYS, HOLIDAYS AND LATE NIGHTS JUST WAITING FOR US TO BE SECURED.
BUT THAT ALL FADES INTO INSIGNIFICANCE AT AN EVENT SUCH AS THIS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CEREMONY OR FORMATION AND KNOW THAT'S YOUR MARINE OUT THERE, WHO REPRESENTS ALL THAT IS RIGHT AND GOOD WITH AMERICA, OR THE PRIDE YOU FEEL WHEN SOMEONE ACTUALLY THANKS THEM FOR BEING A MARINE AND DEFENDING OUR WAY OF LIFE, OR EVEN BETTER WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU HOW MUCH YOUR MARINE HAS MEANT TO THEIR SPOUSE!!!
continued.............
Marine Corps Birthday 2002
LADIES, GENTLEMEN, HONORED GUESTS, MARINES; FIRST OF ALL, I MUST TELL YOU THAT I AM DEEPLY MOVED AND HONORED TO HAVE BEEN ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE MARINES AND SAILORS OF EWTGPac TONIGHT. IT IS ALSO FITTING THAT WE CELEBRATE WITH OUR NAVY BRETHREN; AFTER ALL, WE ARE THE BOAT PEOPLE. THE STEEL OF THE NAVY-MARINE CORPS TEAM HAS BEEN HONED IN COUNTLESS FIGHTS IN EVERY CLIME AND PLACE. IN A WORLD OF UNPRECEDENTED POLITICAL INSTABILITY, THE POTENTIAL FOR EMPLOYMENT OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS TEAM IS EVER PRESENT. WHEREVER SALT WATER CAN REACH, IN ANY OCEAN OF THE WORLD - MARINES AND SAILORS ARE ON-WATCH AND READY. THERE WILL BE NO QUESTION THAT THEY ARE READY TO DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT OUR NATIONAL INTERESTS, WHEREVER THEY ARE THREATENED.
I ALSO REALLY ENVY THIS OUTFIT WORKING FOR THE LIKES OF HIMSELF: COL RIC WEST and COL JEFF POWERS : TWO MEN ABANDONED BY WOLVES AND RAISED BY THEIR PARENTS...I KNOW THAT HE'S THE TYPE OF LEADER WHO I WOULD FOLLOW INTO HELL ITSELF JUST TO WATCH HIM MAKE THE DEVIL DANCE!!!
YOU KNOW, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHERE WE CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAY. IN A GRAND BALLROOM WITH A CLOSE COMPANION BY OUR SIDE OR IN A DARK, MUDDY FOXHOLE IN SOME 3RD WORLD ****HOLE WITH A MATCH STUCK IN AN MRE CHOCOLATE DEATH CAKE, THE SENTIMENT IS THE SAME. OF COURSE, YOU WILL AGREE IT'S ALWAYS A NICER EVENT WITH APPROPRIATE LIBATIONS.
OUR GATHERING THIS EVENING REPRESENTS THAT ELITE FRATERNITY OF CITIZENS WHO HAS PUT OUR NATION FIRST. YOU HAVE EACH GIVEN UP YOUR MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY - YOUR TIME. NO ONE CAN EVER GIVE THAT BACK. [24 hours in a day, and 24 beers to a case - coincidence? I think not!]
YOU EACH REALIZE THAT OUR NATION MAY PERISH BECAUSE TOO FEW OF OUR PEOPLE KNOW WHAT FREEDOM REALLY COSTS. IT DOESN'T COME WITHOUT SACRIFICE, OFTEN ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. IN OUR HISTORY AS A NATION ONLY 4 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED "MARINE." IN EACH GENERATION THE MARINES HAVE FOUND THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE BRAVE. IT IS THIS BROTHERHOOD OF MARINES THAT HAS STOOD TOGETHER NOT ONLY IN THE PRIDE OF OUR NATION'S AND CORPS'S GREAT VICTORIES, BUT ALSO IN THE PAIN OF DEATH. THE MARINE CORPS HAS BEEN BETTING ITS HONOR, ITS MISSION AND THE COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL HIDES OF ITS MEMBERS FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES ON THE PREMISE THAT TEENAGED MARINE PRIVATES WHO ARE AS GREEN AS THEIR FIELD UNIFORMS CAN BE TRUSTED ABSOLUTELY TO RISE TO THE DEMANDS OF THEIR DUTY. AT THE COST, IF NECESSARY, OF THEIR LIVES. THINK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT THE IWO JIMA MEMORIAL IN WASH, D.C., THE MOST FAMOUS MONUMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE WORDS INSCRIBED IN STONE ARE 'UNCOMMON VALOR WAS A COMMON VIRTUE." IT DOESN'T SAY, "IT WAS EASY...."
AS I LOOK BACK I THINK OF HOW LUCKY WE ALL ARE TO BE HERE TONIGHT. MANY OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES ARE NOT. THEY NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO FULFILL THEIR DREAMS, AND IT IS IN THEIR MEMORY AND THAT OF COUNTLESS OTHER MARINES THAT WE HONOR THIS EVENING. DESPITE A LOT OF HOLLYWOOD HOORAH AND HYPE TO THE CONTRARY, THE MARINE CORPS DOES NOT RECRUIT ROCKET SCIENTISTS OR IN
MONESTERIES, SO WHY ARE WE SURPRISED THAT A YOUNG MARINE LIKES TO FIGHT, RAISE HELL AND CHASE MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
OUR SECRET IS THAT WE CAN TAKE ORDINARY YOUNG AMERICANS AND TEACH THEM THAT IF THEY WILL WORK TOGETHER AND DEPEND UPON EACH OTHER TOTALLY, THEY CAN WORK MIRACLES. THAT TRUST, THAT CONFIDENCE IN OTHERS DEPENDABILITY, THAT SURE KNOWLEDGE THAT DOWN IN THE CRUNCH, IS THE INDIVIDUAL MARINES' SWORD AND SHIELD.
MARINE DRILL INSTRUCTORS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MASTERS OF AN UNFAILING ALCHEMY WHICH CONVERTS DISORIENTED YOUTHS INTO PROUD, LEAN, SELF-RELIANT CITIZENS - INTO WHOSE HANDS OUR NATION'S MOST SENSITIVE AND CRITICAL AFFAIRS CAN BE ENTRUSTED. EVERY ONE OF US SHED THE VESTIGES OF CIVILIAN LIFE AND STOOD BEWILDERED ON THE YELLOW FOOTPRINTS AND WONDERED WHAT THE HELL WE WERE DOING, WHILE SOME MANIAC BERATED OUR FAMILY LINEAGE - UNLESS YOU WENT TO BOOT CAMP IN SAN DIEGO, OF COURSE, WHERE THEY NEVER RAISE THEIR VOICE. YOU KNOW, AT PARRIS ISLAND, WHEN WE MEMORIZED THE GENERAL ORDERS, YA HAD TO SAY 'EM BEFORE A MATCH BURNED DOWN, BUT I HEAR TELL THAT IN SD THEY USE A FLASHLIGHT AND WAIT FOR THE BATTERIES TO RUN OUT!!!
EACH GENERATION OF MARINES SINCE 1775 HAS FACED CHALLENGES. YOUR GENERATION IS NO EXCEPTION. WE MARINES KNOW WHEN WE TAKE THE OATH OF ENLISTMENT THAT THE TASK THAT AWAITS US WILL NOT BE EASY.
THIS IS INDEED A DIFFICULT TIME FOR OUR NATION AND OUR CORPS. MAKE NO MISTAKE; WE ARE AT WAR WITH AN ELUSIVE AND DETERMINED ENEMY. I SPENT MY ENTIRE CAREER FIGHTING THE EVIL EMPIRE, AKA COMMUNISM, AND WAS VERY PROUD TO DO SO. AMERICA WON THAT FIGHT AGAINST A VERY TOUGH OPPONENT. IT TOOK GREAT EFFORT AND MANY YEARS OF SUSTAINED VIGILANCE AND SACRIFICE BY SO MANY WHOSE NAMES WE WILL NEVER KNOW. YOUR NATION NEEDS YOUR SKILLS NOW MORE THAN EVER. THIS CAMPAIGN WILL BE LONG AND ARDUOUS, AND I KNOW YOU WILL MORE THAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE. OLD OSAMA, SADDAM AND THEIR PECKER-HEAD RUNNING MATES ARE GONNA BE IN A WORLD OF HURT, THAT'S FOR SURE.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU ARE ALL JOINED TOGETHER ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY, THE MEMORY OF WHICH WILL LAST FOREVER. THERE WILL BE AS MANY WONDERFUL MOMENTS AND GREAT SEA STORIES OF WHO YOU WERE AND WHAT YOU DID, THE RULES YOU BROKE, AND THE SCAMS YOU PULLED, AS THERE ARE MARINES ON THE MORNING REPORT. HELL, LETS ADMIT IT, SOME OF US ARE JUST INCIDENT REPORTS WAITING FOR A DATE-TIME-GROUP.
REMEMBER: * TELLING MOM AND DAD AND FAMILY THAT YOU ARE ENLISTING AND SEEING DAD'S EYES WELL UP WITH UNABASHED PRIDE AND THE LOOK OF WORRY COME OVER MOMS FACE BECAUSE SHE KNOWS WHAT MARINES DO..AND WHERE HER BABY WILL BE GOING * THE INITIAL SILENCE AND UNEASY JOKES AS THE BUS ENTERS THE MCRD GATE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT * THE FIRST SHATTERING LOOK AT WHAT USED TO BE * OPEN SQUAD-BAYS, LINED UP ROWS OF LOCKER BOXES AND DOUBLE-DECK STEEL COTS, AND SIDE-BYSIDE CRAPPERS BECAUSE MODESTY IS A THING OF THE PAST * THE QUICK FLICKER OF TIME BETWEEN TAPS AND THAT AWFUL SOUND OF A METAL ****CAN ROLLING DOWN THE CENTER OF THE SQUADBAY ACCOMPANIED BY THAT AWFUL BRAYING OF "GET UP, GET UP AND LOCK YOUR BODY!" * FEET ACHING FROM HOURS ON THE GRINDER, LICKIN AND STICKIN AND MAGGIES DRAWERS * COUNTLESS PUSHUPS AND A STRANGE NEW SOUND AS REAL BULLETS PASS CLOSE OVERHEAD * THE DOWNRIGHT HAUNTING BEAUTY OF CADENCE SUNG BY UNSEEN VOICES * CORFAMS ON LIBERTY IN A STRANGE NEW TOWN ("HOW DIDJA KNOW I WAS A MARINE?") * LONG WEARY HOURS OF FIELD DAYS, FORMATIONS, AND WAITING FOR THE WORD THAT ALWAYS CHANGES * THE SMELL OF THE INSIDE OF A GP TENT ON A HOT AFTERNOON * LISTER BAGS AND CHOW LINES, AND, "SPREAD OUT, *******IT!!" * LONG HUMPS AT NIGHT AND SLEEPING ON COLD, ROCKY GROUND, FOOT POWDER, MOLESKIN, ACHING BLISTERED FEET,THE SOFT GREY LIGHT OF DAWN MIXED WITH CLEARED THROATS, LOUD FARTS AND WRY COMMENTARY: "COME ON YOU SCROUNGY RAT BASTARDS, TIME TO RISE AND SHINE AND BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF ANOTHER GRAND AND GLORIOUS DAY IN OUR BELOVED CORPS!" * BOOT LIEUTENANTS WHO AIN'T EVEN SHAVING YET AND COMPANY GUNNIES OLDER THAN DIRT AND HARDER THAN WOODPECKER LIPS * THE WHINE OF ROTOR BLADES AND OVERPOWERING SMELL OF JP5; DOOR GUNNERS AND .50 CALS READY TO ROCK AND ROLL * MREs, TABASCO, AND CHOCOLATE DEATH CAKE, * THE OLD SLIT TRENCH AND THE JOYS OF INDOOR PLUMBING * UNDERSTANDING THE PUCKER FACTOR: WHERE THE MORE HAIRY THE SITUATION, THE TIGHTER YOUR SPHINCTER GETS, THE FORMULA IS: S=Suction+ H=Hairy situation +I=Interest in staying alive +T=Tracers coming your way [BEST EXPRESSED AS ****!!!] * CURIOUS BLENDS OF MONOTONY, TENSION, PHYSICAL EXERTION AND A SPECIAL SORT OF DISCIPLINE THAT OTHER SERVICES CAN ONLY ENVY.
AND IF ALL THESE THINGS WHICH WE ALL SHARED, CAN - BY SOME MINDLESS LOGIC OF A WITLESS ****ANT WHO IS COMPLETELY IGNORANT OF WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT - BE CALLED JUST ANOTHER JOB, THEN I DON'T KNOW **** FROM APPLE BUTTER.
IN ALL HONESTY, I WILL NOT TELL YOU THAT EVERY DAY IN THE CORPS IS GREAT. THERE ARE CERTAINLY PEAKS AND VALLEYS...NOT BEING SELECTED FOR A SCHOOL OR PROMOTION; SEEING SOMEONE ELSE GET THE COMMAND THAT YOU WORKED SO HARD FOR; STANDING AT ATTENTION LISTENING TO THE MOURNFUL SOUND OF TAPS BEING PLAYED AT THE FUNERAL OF A CLOSE FRIEND OR BROTHER MARINE; BUT THE PEAKS MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR ANY DISAPPOINTMENT.
* BEING ENTRUSTED WITH THE MANTLE OF COMMAND
* KNOWING THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING DOES AFFECT THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION, OUR CORPS AND YOUR FAMILY
* GETTING A MARINE BACK ON TRACK AFTER THEY STEP ON THEIR SWORD, THEN SEEING THAT YOUNG MARINE YEARS LATER AS A SNCO AND KNOWING THAT YOU MADE THE RIGHT CALL WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WANTED THEM TO BURN.
I AM NOT NAIVE, AND ALSO KNOW THE WIVES GO THRU SOME GUT WRENCHING FEELINGS; MINE SURELY HAS...WHEN YOU DISLIKE THE CORPS FOR WHAT IT DOES TO US AND TO YOU... * THE TRIPS THAT WERE CANCELLED AT THE 11TH HOUR FOR WHAT AT THE TIME SEEMED LIKE SUCH A BOGUS REASON, MISSED BIRTHDAYS, HOLIDAYS AND LATE NIGHTS JUST WAITING FOR US TO BE SECURED.
BUT THAT ALL FADES INTO INSIGNIFICANCE AT AN EVENT SUCH AS THIS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CEREMONY OR FORMATION AND KNOW THAT'S YOUR MARINE OUT THERE, WHO REPRESENTS ALL THAT IS RIGHT AND GOOD WITH AMERICA, OR THE PRIDE YOU FEEL WHEN SOMEONE ACTUALLY THANKS THEM FOR BEING A MARINE AND DEFENDING OUR WAY OF LIFE, OR EVEN BETTER WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU HOW MUCH YOUR MARINE HAS MEANT TO THEIR SPOUSE!!!
continued.............