thedrifter
07-29-07, 09:07 AM
Red Marines - from music to war and back again
By Sasha Vasilyuk
Pacifica Tribune
Article Launched:07/25/2007 12:42:41 PM PDT
It is 8 a.m., but the music is still pumping from the night before. The twins — Mark and Valentin Tarasov — are nodding to the beat of the turntables while the early morning crowd dances in the shaded area in front of the stage.
The sun is already starting to scorch this remote beach in Lake County, where hundreds of Russian immigrants from California have gathered to celebrate life, love, and art at the Red Marines Festival.
Now in its fourth year, the music festival first began as a private party to mark the safe return of Mark and Valentin from Iraq, where they spent several months serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Their older brother Eugene, who lives with the 26-year-old twins in Vallemar, organized that first gathering of 60 friends and relatives to show the boys that they were thought of and prayed for. The Tarasovs have always been a very musical family — all four siblings, including the boys' sister Julia, play musical instruments and dance in a local Russian folk group. So, it was only appropriate that the gathering be centered around music.
Eugene and his rock band "Mobius" prepared a song for the twins and showed a film with pictures from Iraq that made everyone cry. At the end of the film, Mark and Valentin came out in full Marines dress uniform and thanked everyone in the audience. The inaugural festival was named "Red Marines - the Return."
The war
Although the U.S. military attracts a big immigrant population, it is unusual for Russian immigrants to go into service since one of the main reasons for leaving Russia and other former Soviet Union states is to escape the obligatory draft system.
But the Tarasov family always had a connection to the military. The boys' grandfather served as a combat pilot in World War II, their grandmother worked as a dispatcher, and back in Latvia, where they lived until 1993, their father was an aero engineer.
It was no huge surprise then that when Eugene hit 18, he decided to enlist in the Marines to become a pilot.
"Everyone told me that we brought our children to America to save them from the draft and that I was crazy to let him enlist," remembers his mother, Olga. "But my father was a combat pilot and I think it's not a bad thing for a man to serve in the military. Of course, not when there is a war "
In 1998, Eugene finished boot camp and the family drove to see his graduation — as one of the honor graduates, he was marching in front of the battalion.
"The boys were very impressed," says Olga. "They said that they are no worse than Gene, so they should enlist too."
Soon, Mark and Valentin also became honor graduates and went back home. There was no talk of war then and their parents weren't worried. But on 9/11, the twins were called back for combat training. For a year, they learned to walk through minefields, survive tear and nerve gas, run with rockets on their backs, and do combat simulations in small, unknown towns meant to represent Afghanistan. Although they were told they were training to go to Afghanistan, a year later, they were deployed to Iraq.
Eugene felt terribly guilty. It was because of him that his younger brothers went into the military, he thought. He couldn't even go instead of them - by law, only two out of three brothers could be sent to war and the twins were inseparable.
But Mark was optimistic, thinking, "If our grandfathers could survive five years of war, then why can't we?"
In Iraq, he and Valentin had to survive a lot. They crossed almost the entire country, watching towns destroyed. "You run down the street and behind you a whole city is falling," remembers Mark.
They had many moments that made them proud. At one point, Valentin led a group of Marines through a minefield only to realize that one of his men was missing. So, he went back, found the scared Marine, and led him through the field, crossing it safely for the third time that day. At another point, Mark saved 70 troops by taking out a sniper who was pointing a grenade launcher at the Marines.
There were moments of absurdity, too. After two months of combat, the boys were so happy to find a decent bathroom that even a sniper's shooting didn't deter them from answering nature's call.
But back home, Olga was worried sick. It had been a month since they crossed the Iraqi border and she hadn't heard any news from the boys. Eugene was trying to find out information from his base and Olga read everything she could about the operation on the Internet.
"When they began fighting, everything just stopped — there wasn't a single letter or phone call until they reached Baghdad," says Olga. "It was horrible. I always prayed for them. I normally don't go to church, but since then, I started falling asleep with my hand on the cross because I was so scared. But God had mercy on them."
Olga is happy that when the boys came back, the repercussions of war were barely visible.
"I'm just glad that all these trials didn't impact them psychologically," she says with relief. "Maybe because they were together, it was easier for them than for others."
Homecoming
For Mark and Valentin, the scariest part about the war was leaving it. "You are afraid that they will get you at the last moment and you will never make it home," explains Mark.
When they finally got home - safe and sound - the Red Marines festival was exactly what they needed.
"We couldn't even comprehend that we were home," says Mark. "It was so nice to see our closest friends! The guys greeted us very well."
Although Red Marines was supposed to be a one-time event, the next year, there was another reason for celebration - Mark and Valentin's demobilization. But this time, a few people who didn't know the Tarasovs or the full story of the festival joined the group.
By now, Mark and Valentin have completed their service, and the festival has turned into, well, a real festival. This year, the twins helped their brother organize the now annual event that attracts 500 people. They sought out local and international musicians, and Valentin, who is finishing his degree in sound engineering, helped with setting up the bands. He and Mark also formed a DJ duet named "Parus" (i.e. sail in Russian) and in the future they hope to take it to bigger festivals around the world.
But for now, as the Red Marines fans are waking up for the last day of the festival, all they really want to do is sleep. They have been awake for two days straight - running the festival from behind the scenes and playing their own music through the morning hours. They hope for two hours of sleep and then it's back to work: they have to clean the garbage, take down the stage and put out any fires. They better hurry - the temperature may soon reach Iraq-like heights.
More info can be found on www.redmarines.com
Ellie
By Sasha Vasilyuk
Pacifica Tribune
Article Launched:07/25/2007 12:42:41 PM PDT
It is 8 a.m., but the music is still pumping from the night before. The twins — Mark and Valentin Tarasov — are nodding to the beat of the turntables while the early morning crowd dances in the shaded area in front of the stage.
The sun is already starting to scorch this remote beach in Lake County, where hundreds of Russian immigrants from California have gathered to celebrate life, love, and art at the Red Marines Festival.
Now in its fourth year, the music festival first began as a private party to mark the safe return of Mark and Valentin from Iraq, where they spent several months serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Their older brother Eugene, who lives with the 26-year-old twins in Vallemar, organized that first gathering of 60 friends and relatives to show the boys that they were thought of and prayed for. The Tarasovs have always been a very musical family — all four siblings, including the boys' sister Julia, play musical instruments and dance in a local Russian folk group. So, it was only appropriate that the gathering be centered around music.
Eugene and his rock band "Mobius" prepared a song for the twins and showed a film with pictures from Iraq that made everyone cry. At the end of the film, Mark and Valentin came out in full Marines dress uniform and thanked everyone in the audience. The inaugural festival was named "Red Marines - the Return."
The war
Although the U.S. military attracts a big immigrant population, it is unusual for Russian immigrants to go into service since one of the main reasons for leaving Russia and other former Soviet Union states is to escape the obligatory draft system.
But the Tarasov family always had a connection to the military. The boys' grandfather served as a combat pilot in World War II, their grandmother worked as a dispatcher, and back in Latvia, where they lived until 1993, their father was an aero engineer.
It was no huge surprise then that when Eugene hit 18, he decided to enlist in the Marines to become a pilot.
"Everyone told me that we brought our children to America to save them from the draft and that I was crazy to let him enlist," remembers his mother, Olga. "But my father was a combat pilot and I think it's not a bad thing for a man to serve in the military. Of course, not when there is a war "
In 1998, Eugene finished boot camp and the family drove to see his graduation — as one of the honor graduates, he was marching in front of the battalion.
"The boys were very impressed," says Olga. "They said that they are no worse than Gene, so they should enlist too."
Soon, Mark and Valentin also became honor graduates and went back home. There was no talk of war then and their parents weren't worried. But on 9/11, the twins were called back for combat training. For a year, they learned to walk through minefields, survive tear and nerve gas, run with rockets on their backs, and do combat simulations in small, unknown towns meant to represent Afghanistan. Although they were told they were training to go to Afghanistan, a year later, they were deployed to Iraq.
Eugene felt terribly guilty. It was because of him that his younger brothers went into the military, he thought. He couldn't even go instead of them - by law, only two out of three brothers could be sent to war and the twins were inseparable.
But Mark was optimistic, thinking, "If our grandfathers could survive five years of war, then why can't we?"
In Iraq, he and Valentin had to survive a lot. They crossed almost the entire country, watching towns destroyed. "You run down the street and behind you a whole city is falling," remembers Mark.
They had many moments that made them proud. At one point, Valentin led a group of Marines through a minefield only to realize that one of his men was missing. So, he went back, found the scared Marine, and led him through the field, crossing it safely for the third time that day. At another point, Mark saved 70 troops by taking out a sniper who was pointing a grenade launcher at the Marines.
There were moments of absurdity, too. After two months of combat, the boys were so happy to find a decent bathroom that even a sniper's shooting didn't deter them from answering nature's call.
But back home, Olga was worried sick. It had been a month since they crossed the Iraqi border and she hadn't heard any news from the boys. Eugene was trying to find out information from his base and Olga read everything she could about the operation on the Internet.
"When they began fighting, everything just stopped — there wasn't a single letter or phone call until they reached Baghdad," says Olga. "It was horrible. I always prayed for them. I normally don't go to church, but since then, I started falling asleep with my hand on the cross because I was so scared. But God had mercy on them."
Olga is happy that when the boys came back, the repercussions of war were barely visible.
"I'm just glad that all these trials didn't impact them psychologically," she says with relief. "Maybe because they were together, it was easier for them than for others."
Homecoming
For Mark and Valentin, the scariest part about the war was leaving it. "You are afraid that they will get you at the last moment and you will never make it home," explains Mark.
When they finally got home - safe and sound - the Red Marines festival was exactly what they needed.
"We couldn't even comprehend that we were home," says Mark. "It was so nice to see our closest friends! The guys greeted us very well."
Although Red Marines was supposed to be a one-time event, the next year, there was another reason for celebration - Mark and Valentin's demobilization. But this time, a few people who didn't know the Tarasovs or the full story of the festival joined the group.
By now, Mark and Valentin have completed their service, and the festival has turned into, well, a real festival. This year, the twins helped their brother organize the now annual event that attracts 500 people. They sought out local and international musicians, and Valentin, who is finishing his degree in sound engineering, helped with setting up the bands. He and Mark also formed a DJ duet named "Parus" (i.e. sail in Russian) and in the future they hope to take it to bigger festivals around the world.
But for now, as the Red Marines fans are waking up for the last day of the festival, all they really want to do is sleep. They have been awake for two days straight - running the festival from behind the scenes and playing their own music through the morning hours. They hope for two hours of sleep and then it's back to work: they have to clean the garbage, take down the stage and put out any fires. They better hurry - the temperature may soon reach Iraq-like heights.
More info can be found on www.redmarines.com
Ellie