A thought from a little while back.

[hillbillyjar]

I was reading back over some of my old posts, and thought this might fit in here.

Say what you will Jarheads.

Where Did You Come From?


This isn't what I had planned for this week. I guess I'll post that another time. A stray comment made me change my mind about this weeks post. It also made me see a companion as a friend, and made me look a little closer at who my friends are.

I'm a mutt. I'll admit it.

Now, in some circles, those dealing with purebreds, that would be an insult. If I was a dog, horse, or cat, I should be neutered so I could not breed.

I'm not a horse or cat; and despite being told I was one in my younger days, I'm not a dog.

I'm human. I'm a flat out, human mutt.

My uncle is very good at tracking lineage. He did it as part of his job, tracking land records and such in his work. He even made it his hobby when he retired. He enjoyed it for some odd reason. According to the records he tracked down, I could claim I am Irish. I could also claim I am German or Scottish. Danish, French, English, well hell, pretty much all of the Anglo-Saxons were my forefathers. My history also contains Native American, African, and Asian if you dig as deep as biblical scholars would tell you to.

I'm a mutt, by any standard.

If I was anything but a human, this by our own rules, I should not be allowed to breed.

But I did breed. I bred with another mutt in fact; one just like myself. My wifes family can claim very much the same as mine. We are both mutts, both from many strong lines. We both come from cultures that came from cultures that were the cultures that started history.

And we both were both raised to be very proud of specific parts of those heritages. Thanks to our forefathers, our son grows up with a long linage, from many cultures; any one of which he could be very proud of. But we didn't teach him to be proud of them. We tried to teach him to be proud of nothing but himself, his own accomplishments.

He is teaching us that we were wrong.

When he goes to his cub scout meetings, he stands very proudly, and salutes the flag of the country that he came from. He pledges his allegiance to it. He says that recited pledge, every single time, as if it was the first time he swore an oath. He says it. He means it.

Our son doesn't call himself a mutt. He doesn't say he is of the decent of another country. Ask him where he comes from, and the answer is "Howard, Pennsylvania." He is a United States American. Our son is not a mutt. He is a purebred.

Both, my family, and my wifes family have "been here" for several generations. Both our families have had members fight and die in this countries armed forces. I myself was a United States Marine.

And our little seven year old son is teaching us about how to be true Americans.

I dearly hope that there are other families, just like ours. I hope there are other purebred Americans.

I hope the rest of us can learn from them.

[hbharrison]

Marine that was as well said as anyone has said it in years and no you are not a mutt anymore than I or any of us you are an American and a Marine
Thankyou

[hillbillyjar]

Thanks Sarge.

We had had a back yard BBQ the afternoon before I did my weekly blog. We had invited several of the neighbors; some we knew well, others not so well. One of them asked "Undercofler, is that Dutch?" Being raised in Pennsylvania, it's a pretty common question I get. I generally just say "German actually." and drop it at that. But my son beat me to it this time.

Before I opened my mouth, he was at my side, and saying quite indignantly, "American actually! It is Pennsylvania American! NOT Dutch."

I didn't know Jim all that well then, he and his wife live a few houses down, and he had come fishing with me a couple times, but friends would be a stretch back then. It was an innocent question, and I was about to correct my son for being disrespectful to our guest when his wife said "About time someone raises a Patriot. Semper Fi son."

Turns out the better half was a WM.

Jim and Karen have since become good friends.

And none of our neighbors ask if we are Dutch.

[USMCM38A1]

Yes as American as can be for you were a Marine by the grace of God himself .Part of the greatest brotherhood on earth.I give a hardy Semper Fi to all I see with anything Marine Corps on hat ,shirt etc.. And only once in a great while is it not returned those are the people you wonder about were they truly Marines If you are proud enough to wear something exclaiming it then sureley when you pass another how can you keep from returning the compliment.So for all my Marine brothers I say Semper Fi American.

[hillbillyjar]

(clipped) I give a hardy Semper Fi to all I see with anything Marine Corps on hat ,shirt etc.. And only once in a great while is it not returned those are the people you wonder about were they truly Marines If you are proud enough to wear something exclaiming it then sureley when you pass another how can you keep from returning the compliment.


Agreed but...

Just consider there are many like my Mother. She will answer you with something along the line of Bless you or Thank you.

She still proudly wears the USMC tee shirt I gave her 20 some years ago. She also proudly wears the US Navy, US Army, and US Air Force shirts her grandchildren have given her. She has joked that one of the great grand children needs to go into the Coast Guard, and one to the National Guard, so she can show pride for all the services.

And on the flip side of the coin...

When I has a teenager, I went down to the shore with my sister and brother in law for the weekend. We went to a steakhouse for dinner one evening. It was very busy, long line at the door. My sisters husband didn't even pause at the end of the line. He politely asked permission to pass till he was inside the front doors, while Sharon and I stood at the end of the line wondering what he was up to.

John Litzinger is a good size man, and to this day, he still holds himself up with the stature of a fresh off PI boot. You know that "God just told me I can do anything." look that all fresh boots have. It didn't take long for him to politely get to the front of the line.

As soon as he was in the doors, he shouted "SEMPER FI!" and was answered with "OOH RAH!" He turned and looked at the hostess and said "That's our table, but you might need to bring three chairs." We joined a group of five jarheads.

I was 13. I was raised in a tight family. That night I saw a brotherhood. Four years later, I joined it.

[Danny C Smith]

Agreed but...

Just consider there are many like my Mother. She will answer you with something along the line of Bless you or Thank you.

She still proudly wears the USMC tee shirt I gave her 20 some years ago. She also proudly wears the US Navy, US Army, and US Air Force shirts her grandchildren have given her. She has joked that one of the great grand children needs to go into the Coast Guard, and one to the National Guard, so she can show pride for all the services.

And on the flip side of the coin...

When I has a teenager, I went down to the shore with my sister and brother in law for the weekend. We went to a steakhouse for dinner one evening. It was very busy, long line at the door. My sisters husband didn't even pause at the end of the line. He politely asked permission to pass till he was inside the front doors, while Sharon and I stood at the end of the line wondering what he was up to.

John Litzinger is a good size man, and to this day, he still holds himself up with the stature of a fresh off PI boot. You know that "God just told me I can do anything." look that all fresh boots have. It didn't take long for him to politely get to the front of the line.

As soon as he was in the doors, he shouted "SEMPER FI!" and was answered with "OOH RAH!" He turned and looked at the hostess and said "That's our table, but you might need to bring three chairs." We joined a group of five jarheads.

I was 13. I was raised in a tight family. That night I saw a brotherhood. Four years later, I joined it.

Now that has got to be one of the coolest posts I've ever read.
Not to mention the first one. that one got the arm hairs up:thumbup:
Semper Fi.

[micarr57]

Agreed but...

Just consider there are many like my Mother. She will answer you with something along the line of Bless you or Thank you.

She still proudly wears the USMC tee shirt I gave her 20 some years ago. She also proudly wears the US Navy, US Army, and US Air Force shirts her grandchildren have given her. She has joked that one of the great grand children needs to go into the Coast Guard, and one to the National Guard, so she can show pride for all the services.

And on the flip side of the coin...

When I has a teenager, I went down to the shore with my sister and brother in law for the weekend. We went to a steakhouse for dinner one evening. It was very busy, long line at the door. My sisters husband didn't even pause at the end of the line. He politely asked permission to pass till he was inside the front doors, while Sharon and I stood at the end of the line wondering what he was up to.

John Litzinger is a good size man, and to this day, he still holds himself up with the stature of a fresh off PI boot. You know that "God just told me I can do anything." look that all fresh boots have. It didn't take long for him to politely get to the front of the line.

As soon as he was in the doors, he shouted "SEMPER FI!" and was answered with "OOH RAH!" He turned and looked at the hostess and said "That's our table, but you might need to bring three chairs." We joined a group of five jarheads.

I was 13. I was raised in a tight family. That night I saw a brotherhood. Four years later, I joined it.

can't be said any better Semper Fi brother:thumbup::thumbup:

[kenrobg30]

Oh Yeah, I don't understand how I missed this thread. Truth be known , Michael, There are probably, very few " Pure- Breds " on any site on the inter-net. That said, I was told as a child, that I was German, and French. As I grew older, I learned that there were a couple of Skunks, in the wood-pile, somewhere back yonder. I have cousins, who are African, and what-ever, and show it. I've lost touch with them, because they moved to the west coast somewhere. I also learned that one of my uncles, had a Native- American Wife, who presented him with two sons. I've never heard from them, but if I did, I'd be very pleased. I enjoy being a Mutt. ;) S/F!!! Ken

[June 1975]

Agreed but...

Just consider there are many like my Mother. She will answer you with something along the line of Bless you or Thank you.

She still proudly wears the USMC tee shirt I gave her 20 some years ago. She also proudly wears the US Navy, US Army, and US Air Force shirts her grandchildren have given her. She has joked that one of the great grand children needs to go into the Coast Guard, and one to the National Guard, so she can show pride for all the services.

And on the flip side of the coin...

When I has a teenager, I went down to the shore with my sister and brother in law for the weekend. We went to a steakhouse for dinner one evening. It was very busy, long line at the door. My sisters husband didn't even pause at the end of the line. He politely asked permission to pass till he was inside the front doors, while Sharon and I stood at the end of the line wondering what he was up to.

John Litzinger is a good size man, and to this day, he still holds himself up with the stature of a fresh off PI boot. You know that "God just told me I can do anything." look that all fresh boots have. It didn't take long for him to politely get to the front of the line.

As soon as he was in the doors, he shouted "SEMPER FI!" and was answered with "OOH RAH!" He turned and looked at the hostess and said "That's our table, but you might need to bring three chairs." We joined a group of five jarheads.

I was 13. I was raised in a tight family. That night I saw a brotherhood. Four years later, I joined it.


OUTSTANDING!:thumbup: