thedrifter
03-11-07, 07:01 AM
A day in the life of a Marine
by Laura Provolt, 3/10/2007
For the 10 days before he left for deployment to Iraq, Curtis Forrester met with his family and friends and fulfilled the Marines’ unwritten code to “hope for the best, plan for the worst,” he said. Curtis planned his funeral.
He arranged the pall bearers, the cemetery and even a friend to sing at his funeral. Though this ordeal would appear depressing, Curtis said it is a practical plan.
Curtis will be deployed as a field operator for the 2nd Battalion, and expects to spend seven months in Iraq, although he is not allowed to say where or what day he will be deployed.
Curtis said his main goal while in the Marines is to become a corporal noncommissioned officer so he can earn his blood stripes and the sword.
On the last day at home before leaving for his tour of duty in Iraq, he spent time with his family, went to church and visited friends.
Curtis’ parents Marvin and Sarah said they are worried about their son, but his sister Beth, a junior at McKinleyville High School, is even more concerned.
“I don’t think we should be over there, and I don’t think he should be going over there,” Beth said. “When he signed up I thought it was just a phase, but apparently not. I hope he comes back safe, of course, but I don’t think he should be going over there.”
Curtis’ father Marvin said military service is difficult for many families, especially for parents who send their children to war.
“It is definitely a process, kind of like the process of sending them off to day care because you have to let them go, and so you are dealing with an unknown,” Marvin said. “It is also kind of like waiting the nine months before he was born. There is a lot of mystery, a lot of apprehension, because you wonder what he is going to be like when he gets out. Will he be all right? Will he have all his arms and legs? Will he be normal? You have to think about those things, you can’t help it. It’s a process.”
Sarah said she is not just worried about potential physical injuries, but the psychological damages he could incur due to the things he will see and experience in a war zone.
“What I said to Mom and Dad when I joined, I explained it like this: I could step outside the house, walk on the sidewalk, a car could come out and hit me, a car could spin out of control and pin me to a telephone pole,” Curtis said. “You take risks, that’s life; some things you can’t avoid, you can’t let it hold you back.”
He also pointed out that for him to go over to Iraq means that someone else who has been serving there for a long period of time can come home to his or her family.
Ellie
by Laura Provolt, 3/10/2007
For the 10 days before he left for deployment to Iraq, Curtis Forrester met with his family and friends and fulfilled the Marines’ unwritten code to “hope for the best, plan for the worst,” he said. Curtis planned his funeral.
He arranged the pall bearers, the cemetery and even a friend to sing at his funeral. Though this ordeal would appear depressing, Curtis said it is a practical plan.
Curtis will be deployed as a field operator for the 2nd Battalion, and expects to spend seven months in Iraq, although he is not allowed to say where or what day he will be deployed.
Curtis said his main goal while in the Marines is to become a corporal noncommissioned officer so he can earn his blood stripes and the sword.
On the last day at home before leaving for his tour of duty in Iraq, he spent time with his family, went to church and visited friends.
Curtis’ parents Marvin and Sarah said they are worried about their son, but his sister Beth, a junior at McKinleyville High School, is even more concerned.
“I don’t think we should be over there, and I don’t think he should be going over there,” Beth said. “When he signed up I thought it was just a phase, but apparently not. I hope he comes back safe, of course, but I don’t think he should be going over there.”
Curtis’ father Marvin said military service is difficult for many families, especially for parents who send their children to war.
“It is definitely a process, kind of like the process of sending them off to day care because you have to let them go, and so you are dealing with an unknown,” Marvin said. “It is also kind of like waiting the nine months before he was born. There is a lot of mystery, a lot of apprehension, because you wonder what he is going to be like when he gets out. Will he be all right? Will he have all his arms and legs? Will he be normal? You have to think about those things, you can’t help it. It’s a process.”
Sarah said she is not just worried about potential physical injuries, but the psychological damages he could incur due to the things he will see and experience in a war zone.
“What I said to Mom and Dad when I joined, I explained it like this: I could step outside the house, walk on the sidewalk, a car could come out and hit me, a car could spin out of control and pin me to a telephone pole,” Curtis said. “You take risks, that’s life; some things you can’t avoid, you can’t let it hold you back.”
He also pointed out that for him to go over to Iraq means that someone else who has been serving there for a long period of time can come home to his or her family.
Ellie