Todays Moto

[davblay]

Jim, you've outdone yourself this time! That is the most touching MOTO ever! Having those DI's to spend time with that young man was a real work of art in itself!

Semper Fi, Little PUP, and good luck for a cure! You deserve it!

[jinelson]

Thanks bro but all I have done is tried to chronicle our Corps and Marines in a positive light. I can say that two things guided me to post that particular story on Todays Moto. First a PM from bgsuwoody requesting that I post about Honorary Pfc Marine Taylor Batten which will be upcoming, because he believed that story to be most motivating. Secondly in another thread a young man who is the son of a Marine was told that we have been de-emotionalised and are nothing but cold blooded killers. I wanted to illustrate with words and photos how very wrong that is and at the same time back Zulu36 in his response to the poster. All accolades go to the Corps and Marines that serve and have served and those that CMC has deemed worthy of the title Honorary Marine. All I have done is try not to let anyone forget.

Jim

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Semper Fi, Little Pup!

His last line sums it up perfectly, and far better than the poor words most of us have:

"I'll bet it's really fun being a Marine!"

Thanks for posting that SSgt.

[Dave Coup]

Thanks Jim. Having just spent the afternoon with my oldest daughter and youngest granddaughter who are both healthy, I feel even more grateful for thier health and just for icing on the cake I'm about to bust a button with even more pride for my Marine Corps and my Marines.

Semper Fidelis

Dave

[Books]

That was a very motivational read, Mr. Nelson. I really appreciate these posts. Keep it up.

[bgsuwoody]

Yeah Jim, let me tell you, when I looked today for the moto I was excited, and was given even a better surprise. This one was great and I appreciate it immensely. This is the kind of moto that gets me going in the morning and reminds me about everything I have and helps me remain humble.

[bgsuwoody]

I found a site with a little more info about Brandon. He got to do some real cool stuff and the Marine Corps pulled out all of the stops for this young man who deserves the world and nothing less
http://www.warfoto.com/3rdsocietyphotos3.htm
&
https://www.stewart.army.mil/frontli...6lifestyle.pdf

[devildoghopeful]

This really is amazing.

Side note: I just read the Pfc Taylor Batten story on onemarinesview.com, I agree with Woody that this is EXTEREMELY moto itself and deserves a mention on this board. Just......wow, both of these stories.....heck I'm going to run right now!

[249gunner]

Semper Fi Devil Pup!
Rifle Expert right there

[jinelson]

As I promised here is the GySgt Taylor Batten story which is the most motivating story I have ever witnesed. I received a message from Taylors mom and I hope she doesent mind me shareing it with you. Moms words are much better than I would ever be able to muster. I had been searching the internet for an update on taylor as bgsuwoody had requested and the good lord sent me a message from her mother. I have never ceased being amazed at what a small but large Marine family we are! The old SSgt has a eyeball sweat problem so here is Taylors mom.

Semper Fi Taylor Semper Fi

Jim

Please view Taylors photo slide show at the link below;

GySgt Taylor Batten Update

Hello, I am MarineMomB (Cathy Batten, Taylor's mom)
Taylor and I always read today's MOTO, but today I read it by myself and I am glad I did.

I see you mentioned her name and that you may possibly be posting about her in the thread. As a proud mom of a sick child, who because of becoming a Marine, her life has been completely different....I had tears in my eyes. Taylor isn't that sickly child anymore, she is a hard core warrior, facing down her daily battle of life with the true fierceness of a Marine.

I would like to point out to you, she is no longer PFC Batten, but GySgt Batten! Camp Lejeune opened their doors and hearts to my little Gunny in April and she spent a week with her brother Marines there.

The Marines have not just entered our life, they have fully enveloped us and Taylor has had contact from Marines from all over the United States as well as some that have read her story while stationed in the sand box. Usually it is us at home that send care packages, but Taylor has actually gotten some care packages sent to HER from Iraq from Marines!!!

We are in awe every day of her courage and strength she needs to survive and to push on each day. The mere fact that she is even alive in itself is a miracle as her condition only effects girls and less then 1% even survive birth. She was put on this earth for a reason. She has touched the lives of many. A veteran who fought on Iwo Jima met her while she had to be in Washington for medical testing and HE saluted HER. A WWll veteran grabbed her and sobbed while thanking her for what she does. A Veit Nam veteran told her of the horrors he endured coming back home and how he was spit on and swore at and was striped of his pride, he told her he would do it all over again for her. A father who lost his son in Iraq got on his knees and held her tightly, telling her it was because of people like her it was OK he lost his son.

While visiting some very torn up Marines at the NNMC, she held the hand of a young Marine that had been shot in the head. She made an amputee break out into the most beautiful smile when he was angry about what happened to him and she very bluntly told him that it could have been a heck of a lot worse...he smiled so huge and told her she was right, it could have been a lot worse. She talked and joked with a warrior who had been shot in the face and had a gaping hole where his eye should have been, she never looked away from him or was scared, she saw him for who he was. A veteran presented her with his own personal Purple Heart he had gotten many years ago while being severely injured, saying she earned it more then he ever did. I could go on and on about such things.....

I have started a blog for her and would be honored if you would take a moment to read from it.
http://www.proudyoungamerican.blogspot.com

While this does not chronicle all that Taylor has done, it is just a small sampling of her life since March and if you will notice, it has been very busy. She lives by the creed of the Marines every day and every day, she tries to think of what she can do to make the lives of her guys better. I know it is long reading on the blog, but it is amazing to see that at 13 years of age, she has looked well beyond herself and she has actually accomplished as such a young age. Her path we feel has been chosen. While she will never serve in the conventional way for the Marines, we have no doubt that there will be a way, somehow that she WILL be a part of her beloved Corps.

Thank you for your time sir.

A Letter From Taylors Mom

My name is Cathy, I am a housewife/ part time caterer with 2 wonderful children. Taylor Grayce, age 12 and Tanner Shay, age 9. Now earlier, I said I had a little story, but that is not really the case. I hope you have time because I am going to probably make your eyeballs cross by the time this is done.

Twelve years ago, I was blessed with the birth of my beautiful daughter Taylor. I know you have children, so I know I don't have to explain the overwhelming feeling of love you have the first time you see your child. I have always wanted to be a mom, even when I was a child myself, I just knew it was my 'calling' so to speak.

On Taylor's second day of life, she was not eating and I had to take her to a nurses station to have her blood sugar checked before I fed her. There was a nurse that was standing there with a sandwich in her hand and the second she saw my daughter, her sandwich was thrown to the ground and Taylor was scooped out of my arms and all I saw was the back of that nurse almost running into another room with my baby in her arms before I could even register that I was standing there empty handed. My knees just about buckled, but by God, I was not loosing sight of that nurse!!! I ran after her and by the time that I got to her, she already had

Taylor hooked up to monitors and an oxygen tent over her head. Talk about your stomach up to your throat, I could not even speak. I just stood there in disbelief, eyes wide, mouth shut. After this nurse worked on her for what seemed eternity to me, she finally told me that she was not sure what was wrong, but something was. She told me that

Taylor had not a right color to her and her instinct told her something was not right. She called in the pediatrician, on a Sunday, and I guess he was not happy. When he entered the nursery, it was with a kick to the door. He did not look at

Taylor's chart, he did not even really listen to the nurse, he lifted the oxygen tent and said very clearly, 'There is nothing wrong with this child'. And he started to walk away. That nurse got in front of him and blocked his way. I can't tell you for sure what was said, but the last part we heard loud and clear and she said to him, 'my husband does not talk to me that way and you sure the hell aren't going to either'. Needless to say, that got our attention! She proceeded to tell him she did not care what his degree said, she had been a nurse in the NICU for 20 some years and there was something wrong with our child. All I can say is thank God for that nurse!!!!

Taylor's heart was actually starting to shut down. She had to stay in the hospital for a week before we were able to bring her home, she fought and fought well and her condition improved. But we knew she had to have major heart surgery.

Capt. B, from day one my daughter has had to fight and she has had to fight hard, every day of her life. Her struggles are many. Her first surgery was at 6 months old and she has since had to endure 5 others and we know she will have more. We always felt there was something else going on with her other then just her heart condition. At 10 years old, she already had 4 charts full just at her pediatricians office, not to mention all the specialist we had been bounced around to. She was very small for her age, and never healthy. She struggled with things that came so natural for other kids. To say that she has been medically traumatized by all the testing and poking and prodding and surgeries she has had is just about the biggest understatement there could be.

Finally, when she was 11, I couldn't stand it any longer and insisted that we take her to Mayo Clinic to find out what was wrong with her. I had to take on our insurance company, and I had to fight all the way to the top as well as getting a state Senator involved. I was determined to get her there one way or the other and after months, I won and we were on our way. What we found out there, devastated me at first. It was that double edged sword, you fight to find out what is wrong but once you do, you wish you didn't. After her 4th day there, they had pretty much a diagnosis, but didn't have the blood work to confirm it. Mind you, 4 days there and they knew what it was versus 11 long years of misdiagnosis here. We found out she has a genetic chromosomal disorder. She is actually missing a chromosome. In that missing chromosome, she has lost miles and miles of genetic makeup. She is not mentally retarded like Downs, they actually have an extra chromosome. We found out that this condition only effects girls and it is extremely rare because only LESS then 1% of these girls are even born. Well what the hell more of a miracle do I need then that? That right there told me just how amazing she is and just how strong she is. In being born, she had already beat the odds.

This condition basically effects her from head to toe. The most major problem being her heart. We know she will never be able to have her own children, that eventually her hearing and eyes will more then likely be effected. Her body is resistant to its own growth hormone and that is why she is so small. She is now on growth hormone injections and she is responding to it very well, but she will always be small. Her brain does not wire in some areas as it should and then it has over compensated for it in others. In neurological testing, her verbal areas are considered to be in the genius level, while her visual spatial areas are in the impaired area. Her kidneys will eventually give her issues. She has chronic fatigue syndrome and is tired a lot. Her bones do not nor will ever have normal density. She has scoliosis. From all the radiation she has had, it has given her brain some slower growth rate. This is just some of the issues she faces. In her short time already, she has faced more and fought more then most adults will their entire life.

Now, onto the amazing part. For what she has had to endure, for the amount of struggles she has had to do, she always has a smile on her face. She is so compassionate and so caring. She has this light about her. I know every parent feels this way about their child, but I kid you not......her light shines just a bit brighter.

Ever since Taylor was very young, she has always had a huge fascination with the military. If she saw someone in uniform, it is like she had this respect for them, even before she knew what respect was. As she has grew, so did the fascination. When the war in Iraq started, she always wanted to do something, I just never knew what we could do. One day, a little over a year ago, the website for anysoldier was passed onto me. Taylor and I sat down and we read almost every entry from that day. We came upon your posting and both of us were laughing about something you said about Elvis. But, I could tell by the way that you wrote, you more then likely had a huge following of supporters! So we kept on looking, but we always checked your postings and looked forward to them! As luck would have it, we came upon a Marine who posted GO BLUE (for the Michigan Wolverines) and that he loved the Detroit Red Wings. That was it, this was her man she choose to send to. She loves her Wolverines, as that is where she had her heart surgery at and she just loves the Wings.

She sat down and wrote out a letter to this Marine and then her and I went shopping. I had no idea on really what to get, so I asked her if I put her down in the middle of the field with not even her pooh bear and blankie, what would she want. At 11 years old, she set out on a mission and picked out things that I never would have thought of, and things that were so appropriate! I wrote a note about her to the Marine, as I wanted him to know about who was sending to him. I told

Taylor that we probably would never hear from him, as he had a very important job to do. In Taylor's grown up way of saying things, told me that it was OK, she wasn't doing it for a letter back, she was doing it because it was the right thing to do. 11 YEARS OLD!!!!! Amazing how she seems to get 'it' while most adults don't and never will. We sent off several packages to this Marine and one day, we checked to see if he had any updates and were crushed to find out anysoldier had not heard from him and he was dropped. We knew as well that his time to go home was more then likely close. But, we thought, go onto someone else. A few days later, a box came for

Taylor and I saw the customs form on it so I knew where it came from. I don't know who was more excited, her or I! I got my camera all ready, for her little face was just aglow. She sat down in the middle of the living room floor, surrounded by my husband, my mom, her brother and myself. She opened her box and the first thing she pulled out was a boonie hat with a pin in it that we weren't sure what it was (we later found out that it was the chevron this Marine was promoted to Sergeant with), and Marine shirt. Then she just sort of gasped, and so slowly, pulled out an American flag, folded into a triangle. She said 'mom, look at what I got!' with it, was a certificate that it was flown on a mission in her honor. She just sat there, holding that flag, staring at it. You know, the whole time this was all going on, I had that camera in my hand and never took one picture! I was so enthralled by her and what was happening, I couldn't take my eyes off of her! She never let go of her flag, and I should add that this flag is by far, her most prized possession EVER. She found a letter and started to read it, holding her flag to her heart as she did. What happened next, I can only describe simply as life altering. She read the letter to us, speaking slowing and clearly. This young Marine told a bit about himself but then talked about her and how special she is. He told her who wonderful it was that she was trying to take care of them while they were out doing their jobs. He told her that her courage was amazing and her spirit was that of a Marine and because of that, he was making her an Honorary United States Marine. When she read that, she looked at me dead in the eye, with a tear rolling down and said in a tone I had never heard before, 'I am a Marine, ooh rah'. With that, I swear, I saw something in her I had never seen. In that moment, that Marine had given my daughter what I had tried to her whole life. Her spirit just grew by leaps and bounds. I could actually not only see something in her, but I could feel it. Needless to say, I was bawling.

From that moment on, things have been very different for Taylor. She now faces her challenges head on. Instead of fighting against what is being done to her, she fights for it. I can remember the very first time she had to have something done after this happened, she walked into that room, head held high and chest just puffed out. She got up on that table, she still had tears, but she did it! When it was all done, she jumped off that table and ran to me yelling 'I DID IT I DID IT OOH RAH' All I could get out was OOH RAH baby, because my throat and emotions wouldn't let me say anything else. The little things that used to frustrate her, just didn't matter any longer. Her whole demeanor was completely different, it was like she wasn't even the same person. Life altering.

Her and her Marine have kept in touch through email, and he was thinking of getting out of the Marines as he had been in for 8 years. She just got a surprise from him, he wrote to her and said he had decided to relist, as he liked helping people way to much! He lived in PA and is being transferred to Texas. He made a surprise visit to meet her. I never will be able to give this young man enough praise for what he has done for my child. In his one small gesture, in words on paper, changed our whole lives forever. How do you thank someone for that? And true to form, he claims he is nothing special. I beg to differ!

She has since picked out many others to send to, and even picked out someone from the Army, just to be fair! LOL She has a Marine Major that is keeping in great contact with her through email and it means the world to her, he tells her that her courage is inspiring to him.

While my daughter will never be able to join the service, never go through basic training, never get that Eagle Globe and never be able to wear the uniform, in her heart and soul she IS a United States Marine and she IS an American Warrior. I can't even convey on just how proud I am of her for this. Her obstacles are many, but she takes them one at a time.

We just found out that she is going to go to Bethesda Maryland at the National Institute of Health for some intensive testing. We are not sure on the dates as of yet, but were told that it might be in September. At first, Taylor did not want to go. I believe she remembered the hell she went through while at Mayo and just wasn't up for that. Then, just as soon as she said she didn't want to go, she stopped and did an about face. Her exact words....Marines don't back down and I am not going to either, I want to go. We do know she will be tested from Sunday to Thursday. They are paying our way there and back, so I am not sure if she is going to be able to take in any of the sites in

Washington and this has her a bit down. She really wanted to see Arlington, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. We knew there was a barracks there that did a parade, but I believe that is only up until August, so she will miss that.

Here is the reason I am writing. I figure you know 'people' right? I was wondering if you could put me in contact with someone, anyone that I can tell her story to and maybe see if I can't get some Marines to come visit her while she is at the Institute when I get the exact dates? As I said, I am not even sure if we are going to be able to get out to see anything.

Taylor has met her special Marine, and to her that was gold. But, she has never met anyone in uniform. I would just love for someone to come in, talk with her in uniform and recognize her for the Marine that she is. I am not asking for anyone to give her anything, just someone to talk to her. Someone in uniform, that can salute her and make her feel that she is indeed a warrior. Can you help me? I can only imagine that you more then likely get a lot of emails asking for things and probably get pretty tired of it. I know you are busy, and if you can't help, I do understand.

I thank you for your time in reading this, and as I said, I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me, but I also do not expect it.


Thank you,

[devildoghopeful]

Best moto ever. Why on earth can't more people be more like this girl and her mom? Thank you so much for posting this SSgt, and thank you most of all Cathy and Taylor if you're reading this. I was truly touched, especially by the stories of you with the wounded vets and WWII Marines. Keep on truckin'!

Alex

[maverickmarine]

Wow, that is an outstanding little girl!!!!

[GriT]

I think that sweaty eyeball syndrome is contagious.

An amazing little girl and an amazing mother. THAT's motivation.

[thedrifter]

An Outstanding Young Lady!

OORAH!

Ellie

[jinelson]

Yes she is Ellie and of course one of us.

Jim