Why I joined the Corps

[LCplQuiznos]

Growing up I always idolized two people, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and any Marine. I saw the commercials as a child and would always say to my sister "I'm gonna wear that one day it's so cool!" As I got older I learned more about Dr. King and saw that he wasn't just about turning the other cheek, in fact my favorite quote of his is

"A man not willing to die for something is not fit to live."

and I started to see that the Marine Corps was all about that. So I started living my life as much like that as i could, always helping people and putting their needs before my own. When I graduated high school I was already enlisted and left in September of 2005 for boot camp. During the basic warrior training I smashed my knee into something while crawling under barbed wire and I heard a crack. I had two options, I could tell my kill hat what happened or I could keep going. I thought about what it meant to me to be a Marine and how long I have wanted this so i stayed quiet and pushed on, establishing certain safeguards for myself so noone would notice my injury. (icy hot at night, marched in the middle of the formation so the DI's couldn't see me limp, etc) This was about half way through the program and to my surprise I made it. I graduated on Nov 23, 2005, but my knee finally gave out the very next morning.

I went to the ER by my house and the surgeon I was assigned was a Naval Reservist and he took very good care of me and showed me pictures of the inside of my knee. It was black with scar tissue and he said I might not be able to walk again. So to sum up the rest I busted my ass in physical therapy and after four surgeries I can walk and jog, and was honorably discharged on Sept of 2006. I may have destroyed my knee with my silence but I feel that it was well worth it because I always saw Marines as warriors whoo never gave up, so that's what I did.

I found out much later that I was awarded the Good Conduct medal VERY early (the requirements say 3 years of service and I had 1) So despite my slowly degrading knee, I am proud of what I did and would do it all over again because now I can call myself a Marine and noone can ever take that from me.

Semper Fi

[kabar1]

i was raised Marine Corps my mama was a E-5 Woman Marine,my uncle was a E-4 on a gun crew during WW2,Tarawa,Tiapan,Guadelcanal.my old man was a Corpsman with Marine unit during Korea.hell my mama use to sing the Marine to me to get me to go to sleep.i spent 10yrs. with Uncle Sams Misguided Children. i was born a Marine i will die a Marine.SEMPER FI Due or Die

[kaelobo]

for me it was the only doorway where there was not a line down at the court house.

[gethomas3]

The uniform hooked me in, and the perceived challenge reeled me in.

[0231AR]

one day i woke up in Philadelphia at the age of 21 and realized i had nothing going for me. told my girlfriend at the time that i had to do something with myself and i was joining the military. went and talked to the Marine recruiter and pretty much recruited myself..lol. 2 months later went to bootcamp, 8 months later in Okinawa (Camp Courtney). best decision of my life, met some lifelong friends and my wife who i have two amazing children with!

I will always be thankful that i joined because my path as that 21yr old in Philly didnt look to good, but the Marine Corps changed everything for the better. Did 5 and got out but it seems like everyday im thinking about all of the family i left in and it makes me want to go back. everything is so different in the CIVDIV... have to censor everything, nobody is dependable, and everyone complains about things that while i was deployed would have seemed like a slice of heaven!

OORAH Marines, Nobody Better!