Touched up, and re-printed

I posted this sometime back, ran across the file, and upgraded it some.
For the FNG's

A re-emerging Species

In recent years there has been a renewed sighting of a species long subdued, overlooked, yet ever present. To some, possibly even thought near extinction. A species of being not present in the common day news of everyday life, yet ever present on the worlds scene. A genus sometimes mistaken for another, from a phylum without peer.

Coming to maturity before it is scarcely a score of years into this world, this species has a tendency to mark its territory with sacred symbols. It carries with it a guttural cry which sounds to come more from the heart, than from the throat or the gut. When provoked, it teams itself with others of its kind to the utter dismay of its prey. The bond it forms within its clan is profound, eternal, even awe inspiring. And it has the ability to inspire others around it into a pride and spirit for its very existence.

Many cultures have tried to classify this species in the past. Countries in mass have feared it, some have revered it. Some have done both. All of which only adds to the mystique of this breed of being. Even those that fear it have attempted to shun it with names, which only tend to honor the beings more than two centuries of known existence. A classification given by a former adversary resembling what may be ancient Greek or Latin, ‘devilus doggius’, loosely translated into ‘terror hound’, may be one of the most endeared terms with which they revere themselves. And in true form to their mysterious brood, they find an inner pride in the finite tenacity of the term.

Born of a crucible forged in the fires of its forerunners, it’s dens are located on the farthest shores of its native land. The core being of this creature comes from every township and village in between the vast coastlines of it’s homeland. From the heartland of its native soil, the beast is somehow, mystically, transformed into that which sometimes defies explanation. A camaraderie bar none, a drive for success par excellence, a kinship that cannot be broken. It is known for not leaving a fallen brother behind, for always being able to do the ‘dirty deed’ when called upon. Others have tried to imitate it, only to their own mediocrity. Others have tried to emulate its birth, only to a blurred memory of having tried.

All of this and more is why,
From the heartland of AMERICA,
I am proud to carry the title;
UNITED STATES MARINE