PDA

View Full Version : New Marine deserves our salute



thedrifter
11-29-07, 06:59 AM
New Marine deserves our salute

By Jerry Large
Seattle Times staff columnist

Steve Hellwig is a lanky teenager full of wide-eyed enthusiasm.

He beams when he talks about playing drums in a rock band, or fishing with his dad, or being a Marine. Hellwig graduated from Decatur High School in Federal Way last June and decided to join the Marines.

The choice ran counter to his family's view of the war in Iraq.

"A lot of my family, including myself, doesn't necessarily agree with the reason we went to Iraq," he said.

But he wanted to support the troops who have to do the fighting, and to help this country keep the commitment it made to the people of Iraq.

"How can I argue with a guy who's thinking like that?" his father, Ray Hellwig, asked. "I'm darned proud of him."

"My dad being in Marines had a large impact on me," Steve told me.

He said the values he learned at home are the ones the Marines emphasized in boot camp: honor, courage, commitment.

The Hellwigs have a history of military service.

Steve's grandfather, Louis "Bud" Hellwig, joined the Navy in World War II and survived a sunken ship. All three of Bud's sons, Gary, Steven and Ray, joined the Marines during the Vietnam War.

Steven died in Vietnam at 19.

Four years ago, I wrote about Bud and Verly Hellwig when the support given to soldiers fighting in Iraq brought back painful memories of how their sons were treated during the Vietnam War.

When Bud Hellwig called to tell me about his grandson, he said he was broken-hearted about Steve's choice.

Steve's mother and two sisters weren't happy either.

His dad is both proud and concerned — Steve is only 18.

Ray would have preferred that his son go to college first, maybe become an officer, at least choose a different time.

But he has made his choice and his family, while opposing the war, supports Steve, who is doing what he believes is right.

Ray Hellwig said he's disappointed that men who dodged the war he fought in are now sending young men to war. But if his son has to fight, he's glad it's with the Marines.

In separate conversations, father and son both raved about the camaraderie of the Marine Corps.

"The danger is there," Steve said, "but I'm not that worried because I'll have my fellow Marines with me."

He told me boot camp made him a better person physically, mentally and emotionally.

He's hoping that while he's in the Marines he'll gain some leadership skills and figure out what his career path should be.

Steve sounds like a commercial for the Corps, which fits his current assignment.

For the next couple of weeks he's working as an assistant recruiter at the recruitment office in Tukwila.

He'll go into combat training next before being deployed.

"You need to go sometimes where it is not necessarily the best place for you, but where you will have the most impact on the people around you," he said.

The country is fortunate to have young people like Steve. I just wish we were wiser about how we made use of their idealism and enthusiasm.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.

Ellie