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AmericanCourage #207 20 AUG 2009
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I'm so proud to have the Eagle Globe and Anchor sticker on my
vehicle, an elderly gentleman saluted me today. This is my
husband who is coming home from Afghanistan, hopefully soon.
I enjoy your website, Semper Fi.
Marine Mom Photo Contest
Hi, I found this in my fathers Marine Corps Recruit Book from
Parris Island, First Battalion Platoon 78 - Honor Platoon Sept.
21, 1955 and thought you might like it for your web site.
David M.
Dear Sgt Grit,
Our son graduated from Michigan Technological University with an
engineering degree in May 2001. He tried several jobs as an
engineer and just couldn't get along with the tedious work. He
tried substitute teaching and really enjoyed working with young
people and showing them things that are new to them.
He had a job offer from the National Laboratory in New Mexico
and was thinking about going for an interview, this was
September 2001. While he was trying to decide on the job in New
Mexico or going back to school to get his teaching certificate,
the terrorists hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
That night while we were watching the event on the news he told
my wife and I that he had figured out what he was going to do.
In his words he told us "I am going to join the military because
my Country needs me." The next day, he was in the Marine
Recruiter's Office.
Later that year he was in Quantico, VA in OCS and after that,
The Basic School. Of course my wife and I both attended his
graduations. When he graduated from The Basic School, I asked
what he had learned. His answer was "Everything that I learned
is about the PFC with the M-16." That was about the proudest of
him I had ever been. He is still in today after 6 1/2 years.
He is a CH-53 pilot based at Miramar in California. He has been
to Iraq twice and may be going to Afghanistan sometime next
year.
He is the fourth generation in our family to go into the
military, but he is only the second Marine. My father was a 6th
DIV Marine in WWII, my grandfather (WWI) and I (Vietnam era)
were both in the Army.
I have no fear for him while he is deployed because I am assured
that he is well trained and amongst the best trained most
disciplined military in the world.
Thank you for allowing me to share this with your readers.
God bless the Marine Corps.
David Welihan
Jackson, MI
Vintage Boot Camp Shirts
And I Quote...
"Our struggle for nationhood, our unrelenting fight for freedom,
our very existence -- these have all rested on the assurance
that you must be free to shape your life as you are best able
to, that no one can stop you from reaching higher or take from
you the creativity that has made America the envy of mankind."
--Ronald Reagan
Will you post my tattoo on your page ;) I got this tattoo of my
honey who is currently deployed. We've known each other since
the first grade. He is my best friend and my soulmate. Now he
will be with me always. Semper Fi
Hi Sgt Grit,
I just wanted to add a very special Marine to your Marine
stories. My son Lance Corporal Eric Esquibel, joined your
beloved Corps in June of 2008 and graduated from boot camp,
platoon 1009 MCRD in August. He is an infantryman 0311 and is
stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC, 2d battalion, 2d Marine Regiment,
2d Marine Division. He is currently at 29 palms, California,
going thru enhanced Mohave viper training, and then headed to
Afghanistan in October with his unit.
His passion was to join the Marine Corps since the age of 12 and
as soon as he graduated from high school he joined the corps and
loves it. He has earned several meritorious awards and is always
praised by his commanders as being an excellent Marine with the
highest standards of performance. His mom and I are the
proudest parents ever and wish him and his battalion the best of
luck in Afghanistan. To all the Marines that have served and
still serving our country, may god take care of you all and
THANK YOU for YOUR SERVICE.
I would sure appreciate it if you could print this in one of
your editions
PROUD MARINE DAD
Phil Esquibel
Our son, Clint Thomas, was promoted on or about 2 August 2009 to
Master Sergeant, USMC, while in Afghanistan with 2Bn 3rd
Marines. We couldn't be prouder.
Wayne & Debi Thomas
And I Quote...
"Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and
self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism.... A
really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the
all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of
managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be
coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it
is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to
ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers."
--English writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
Hello Sgt Grit.
I was never in the USMC but I was in MCJROTC for most of my high
school career. Though I wasn't a real devil dog, the program did
have a great impact on me, especially the instructors, 1st Sgt
Kenneth Bustamante and GySgt. Tim Shaner. These two men had a
great impact on my life, teaching me the true nature of the
Corps values honor, courage and commitment. I hold the lessons
they taught me close to heart. It is because of their leadership
and instruction that I answered my calling to go into a law
enforcement career.
Always a friend to the few and the proud,
Samantha Roe, Semper Fi! HOORAH!
This bumper sticker says it all, for no person on God's Earth
hates war more than the sailor, the airman, the soldier, or the
Marine who has to fight it.
When you enjoy the freedom you wake up with every morning,
thank a Veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
Doug Peschka
U. S. Navy Veteran
And I Quote...
"The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to
the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most
erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of
protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every
part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy."
--Benjamin Franklin
Are we really the FEW, the Proud, the Marines? As a Marine
(1964 - 1972) who proudly displays his affiliation on his
bumpers and his workout T-shirt, I am surprised how few other
Marines I come in contact with in the Greater Boston area. I am
curious how many of us there are, former and active Marines in
the United States. What percent of the male U.S. population are
Marines? Can anyone provide some information on how FEW we are?
Bill Cassell
H&S Company, 1st Bn, 25th Marines, 4th Division
Bringing Heroes Home, With Honor and Respect In February 2009, I
left my family and our new tropical island paradise home of
Okinawa for the sand-swept landscape of Kuwait. My assignment
was to serve as the mortuary and patient affairs chaplain for
Marine Forces Central Command (MARCENT) in Kuwait. This 6 month
Individual Augment (IA) assignment was unlike any other I had
served during my 24 years in the military and a genuine learning
experience. As always, amid the challenges of life, a Higher
Power was at work.
This deployment was truly joint-service in nature. I was the
only Sailor assigned to Abdullah Al Mubarak Air Base, assigned
to a Marine command, working with airmen, Marines and soldiers
nearly every day. I worked with Army mortuary teams, Air Force
and Navy medical teams, lived and worked on a joint Kuwaiti and
U.S. Air Force base, and was supported by Army chaplains. I
have a new appreciation for my sister services and a genuine
love for military personnel from all branches.
Every single fallen warrior and civilian was rendered honors as
their remains came through our air base on their final flight
back to their homeland. Australian, British, Latvian, Nepalese,
Philippines, Polish, and Sri Lankans came through. No matter
what day or hour, representatives from every branch of the
military were present. The Air Force and Marine air crews and
those on the flight line went above and beyond the call of duty
to support the Army mortuary teams. Our civilian contractor
personnel did a great job too. Today's Marine Corps still
produces warriors and wins battles. America is still a nation
of patriots and our young people serving today are great!
As I pause in reflection, I realize 180 days can seem like a
short deployment or an eternity, depending on circumstances.
Being on call for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months
has taught me to become more flexible: in scheduling, in
sleeping, in eating, in physical training, and more prepared to
deliver ministry at a moment's notice. During this deployment,
I ministered to 4 mortuary teams, ill and injured Marines, and
an entire airbase, during tragedy, boredom and many light-
hearted moments too. I have learned to love airmen and
soldiers, in addition to Marines and sailors. I believe I have
become a better person, and hopefully a better chaplain too.
LCDR Cliff Stuart is assigned to Marine Wing Support Group 17,
1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan. He served as a Marine
from 1985 to 2000, and was commissioned into the Navy Chaplain
Corps in 2000.
I read the letter from Michael Ross in this weeks newsletter
and it touched a nerve with me. Except for marriage and
children, I have often said that the Marine Corps was the best
thing that ever happened to me. Why? I flunked out of college
and although I didn't know it at the time, it was due mostly to
lack of discipline commitment and confidence in myself.
In stepped the Corps. No, I didn't find it, it found me. I was
one of eleven out of approximately three hundred individuals
that was drafted into the Marines that day. For some reason,
God's plan for me was not to be a failure and He knew the
answer. The Corps! It provided exactly what I needed.
I have tried over and over to explain to the uninitiated what
the Marine way is all about but I never can find the right
words. Is it the discipline? Not exactly. Is it the confidence
to do whatever you set your mind to do? Not exactly. Is it fear
of failure? Not exactly. Is it pride in accomplishment? Maybe. I
think it's all of those yet there's some other indeterminate
factor that blends all of that together to form a Marine.
When my time was up, I went back to school, graduated with
honors, went to night school and earned a Masters Degree. I have
had some success in the business world and I owe ALL of it to
the Corps. Absolutely none of this would have happened if on
that fateful day in January 66, a Sgt. in his Dress Blues didn't
tell me to follow him.
C. F. Larkin
And I Quote...
It is better to die like a man, standing on your own two feet,
than on your knees in disgrace.
--A Philippine General Quote
Semper Fi to all of my Bros,
Robert Collier
When you reach 70 and look back at your service you only
remember the things that made you proud to be a Marine. At times
I have wonder if the new Marines are as good as my generation of
Marines. Recently I watched about 15 minutes of the movie
Jarhead before I turned it off. The only movie as equally bad
was Clint Eastwood's which I decided that this drama
presentation was really meant to be a comedy.
After thinking about it I started to wonder if maybe the movies
were accurate. I became some what depressed until I read the
book Joker One. This book is a about Marines fighting near
Ramadi. It is a story of courage, of dedication, of skills and
the love of Marines for their brothers even until death.
The book convinced me the Marines of today are better trained
and better equipped than we were. They retained the brotherhood,
courage and sacrifice that we had. I am proud of this new
generation of warriors. Well Done
Don Bowman
And I Quote...
"The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe
unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather
than by any inherent instability of the private economy."
--economist Milton Friedman
People are often shocked when they find out that I am a United
States Marine. This is partially because my appearance is not
that of the stereotypical marine. I am 5'3" tall and probably
120lbs soaking wet with all of my gear. Their shock is often
accompanied by curiosity. The question, without fail is "Why
the Marines?"
The military dates back in my family to times previous to the
revolutionary war. Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force; you name
it, we had it. Uncles in the Air Force, father in the Army,
brother in the Navy. But the Marine Corps was a rarity. There
have only ever been two other Marines in my family. My
grandfather, Marlin Caddell, was a sergeant at the time of his
discharge. My cousin, Brian Mccormick, was also a sergeant at
the time of his death.
Being a United States Marine has been my dream as far back as I
can remember. This desire was only strengthened as I stood at
the funeral of my grandfather, and then at that of my cousin.
Seeing the Marines that participated in those ceremonies,
hearing the 21 gun salute, seeing the lone Marine on the hill
playing TAPS...I felt honored to be standing on the same ground
as those proud men in their dress blues.
Today, I had that same honor as we buried my grandmother. She
has battled cancer for roughly a year and a half, and today was
finally laid to rest beside her Marine husband. I was in boot
camp when I found out that she had cancer. They told her that
she didn't have a lot of time left. She told the doctors that she
wasn't going anywhere until she got to see her newest Marine in
her dress blues. She hung on to see me come home in my dress
blues, my charlies, and my service alphas. She listened to my
stories of boot camp, laughed at my descriptions of the
screaming drill instructors, was (in my eyes) appropriately
shocked at everything from my descriptions of the ever popular
"island hopping" from sand pit to sand pit, to the quickness and
precision with which we had to do EVERYTHING. But when story
time was done, and she had me sitting on her couch in my blues,
the tone always changes. She would hold my hand, and with tears
in her eyes, tell me how proud my grandfather would have been of
me, and how proud she was of me. She had a deep and strong love
for the Corps. So I wore my dress blues for that amazing woman
one last time today as we laid her to rest.
So my answer to the age old question "why the Marines?" never
takes much time. I can say that I am a Marine because it is a
proud legacy, because we take care of our own, because we love
our country. All of these are entirely true. However, I don't
really know where the dream to be a Marine came from. I just
know it was there, and I know that standing in front of that Iwo
Jima statue after the crucibal, being called a United States
Marine was the proudest moment of my life. And every time I put
on my uniform, talk to a retired Marine and hear their
stories, or any number of other things, I feel that same pride.
I am a United States Marine.
I have included a picture of my USMC tattoo. The words above the
customized Eagle, Globe, and Anchor are Semper Fidelis. And
below are the words The Strong Never Die. I got it in memory of
my grandfather Sgt Marlin Caddell, and my cousin Sgt Brian
Mccormick.
Oorah and Semper Fi!
Lcpl Natasha Perkins
MCAS New River
Well, it has been many years since I became a Marine. I just
thought that one of my four children would become a Marine, but
only one has joined the service-the Air Force. Upon graduating
as a Honor Graduate, another airman asked him how he did it.
His answer floored me, but made me proud too. He said, "Do you
think I could be anything but number one being raised by a Woman
Marine". He went on to graduate from Tech school as an Honor
Graduate too.
Anyway, thought I should include my boot camp picture from
platoon 12-A November 9, 1965 - I'm in row 4, 7th from the
right. Of all the WMs I graduated with I only know one now-who
husband graduated high school with me, her name is Jo Ann. I
have included a picture of Jo Ann, I and C.T. (my son) from his
graduation from boot camp in 2008. Jo Ann is also in row 4, 2nd
from the right.
And to J. M. Oliver who posted the 11-A Platoon picture - yes,
we remember.
Pamela Q. (PQ) Laucius
And I Quote...
"'Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.' We have heard that
many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration
of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world
becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political
savior, then freedom is going to erode away.... Ultimately, our
choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This
has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have
not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government
should 'do something' about anything that ticks you off, or
anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice
between Utopia and freedom."
--economist Thomas Sowell (also a Marine)
Now 40 years since the Woodstock gig. I know I'm probably going
to step on some toes here, but here's one Old VietNam era Marines
memory and opinion!
As I recal, this Woodstock thing began as a "Come together"
weekender party of sort. It ended up being a setting for
Militants, drug using, boozing, anti war cowards and what was
referred to as "Free Love" Funny, the only thing I recall about
that time was idiots, cowards burning their draft cards and
there Bras!
Friends and co- Marines still in Nam getting there butts shot
at. Not running, not burning there draft cards, but doing as our
President so ordered us to do. Right, wrong or indifferent it
was a Hippy, Flower Child fest in my opinion!
So, when I see on CNN this old hippie couple that had there
picture taken then and now entered into the Smithsonian, I hang
my head in deep shame! I wonder if he served his country, or did
he Cop out like so many cowards did, run to Canada, or just
refused to fight for whatever idiotic reason?
Now, some Vietnam Vets attended Woodstock, if your one of them
and you went there to get smashed and hear the music, fine.
However if your one of these that went to Nam and came home to
protest it with your Flower Child friends, Deal with my
opinion!
Now 40 years later and we celebrate this drug party? This
country needs to wake up and remember all those commrades that
left there young dead lives there and arent here today to
celebrate anything.
Ever hear the song by Merle Haggard titled "Fighten Side"? If
not go to youtube and listen to it, this will be my message to
all those Hippies that took the easy way out.
Again, Just one old, mad Marines opinion- GUNG HO!
RVC Cpl, USMC 1964-70
Marine, Jarhead, Leatherneck. Brother,
I've told all about my on-going problems with my lower back.
Six surgeries on my back/tailbone/pelvis joint, radiculopathy
and sciatia. Some days are ok, some are fine, some not-so-good,
some really suck. I was having one of those 'not-so-good' to
'really suck' days Tuesday. I always have some difficulties on
days that follow the ones when I mow my lawn. Back spasms, what
feel like electrical shocks running down either, sometimes both,
legs (feels like I have an arc-welder hooked up to my entire leg
-Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!) and pain in either hip that feels
somewhere between someone jamming a white-hot ice pick into my
butt cheek to a red-hot railroad spike being driven into my
pelvic bone. Let's just say it ain't fun!
Don't do much on those days except hurt, cuss and take my
medicines. I could easily get 'down' and throw in the towel,
many of my doctors are surprised I haven't, saying they would
have already. It seems that something always shows up that gets
my poor, tire, worn out azs back in gear...it's ALWAYS the
MARINES!
Yesterday, as I reclined on the couch to find one of my 'less
painful' positions, I heard my cell phone 'beep'. Someone had
sent me a text message. I checked and saw that a young Marine
Sergeant I've known for years had sent me a message early that
morning.
In it he stated 'If being a Marine means someone always has your
back, send this to every Marine whose back you've got and see
who has yours'. Then he said he had mine.
Kinda made me swell up with pride knowing this younger Brother
'had my back'. I replied, we sent a few texts back-and-forth
before I admitted my old(er) fingers don't hit those tiny keys
very good and that I would e-mail his message to all Marines I
know. Then I said to h&ll with e-mail and gave him a call. He
was at his desk, on his lunch break, catching up on his
paperwork. We shot the breeze for a time then I told him to go
back to work. I had talked with a MARINE!
Well, since he asked me to send out this message, here it
comes...
I've got your back Marine! Always will.!
Semper Fi,
Tony Glass
Sgt USMC
1974-78
PS Now with all of this 'I've got your back' stuff going around,
if an 'extra' back shows up, let me have it! I could sure use a
replacement for the one I've got!;)
And I Quote...
"May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God, rather than
by the cares of life"
--Author Unknown
I am asking you all to please pray for our close and personal
friends, the Ferrell family, Bruce Sr. & his wife Pam and their
family found out yesterday that their son and hero LCpl Bruce
Ferrell Jr. USMC was killed in action when he stepped out of his
humvee and stepped on an IED while on patrol Sunday evening.
This family was our friends and we got even closer when their
son joined the Marines. He wound up with the same MOS that I had
when I was in which was a M60 machine gunner. He was deployed to
Afghanistan in May of this year and they had not heard from him
other than some letters until Saturday evening he was able to
get a call to them for about 10 - 15 minutes. That would be the
first and last time they got to talk to him since being
deployed.
This family just lost a daughter last year in a horrible car
accident that caused the car to explode and burn their daughter
up in the wreckage. Also please feel free to pass this request
on to all who will pray for them, right now they need all the
comfort they can get.
Semper Fi
Bobby Lee
And I Quote...
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the
germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of
ambition."
--Thomas Jefferson
Hi,
My husband, Sgt. Donald E. Roberts, was very seriously wounded
in Viet Nam on March 4, 1968. He was a member of Lima 3 / 4. He
spent months in the Philadelphia Naval hospital recovering
before we returned to New Hampshire. I packed up some stuff and
took our almost one year old daughter to be near him. He lost
his left leg and has shrapnel wounds over much of his body. When
we did return to New Hampshire he went right to work and has
been working hard both at work and play ever since.
He has never felt sorry for himself or asked why this happened
to him. His love of the Marine Corps never wavered. Like all of
you, he will always be a Marine! He has always wondered what
ever happened to the other men who were with him, especially a
young man by the name of J L Houston. He was the one who carried
my husband down the hill so he could be medivaced out and back
home. If it hadn't been for that courageous act we don't know
what would have happened.
When our children were little and said their prayers at night
they always said a special one for JL Houston. So if there is
anyone reading this from that company or who knows someone who
was. We would love to know what happened to them and maybe get
to thank JL Houston. My husband has tried a couple of times to
find out but never got anywhere. He is my hero and it would be
great if I could get some information for him. We just
celebrated our 44th anniversary in June.
Thanks in Advance
Joy A, Roberts (wife of a Marine)
And I Quote...
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have
come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the
first."
--President Ronald Reagan
I'll be 76 in a few weeks, and if it weren't for the Corps I
don't know where I'd be now. The Korean G-Bill let me finish my
education at LSU, and take pilot training at American Flyers
Fort Worth, TX. I received all the necessary ratings, but it
was 7 more years before I became an airline pilot, (which I was
for 30 years).
I talk to the kids now and tell them that the "USMC is looking
for a few good men". When I mention my beloved Corps they seem
to run scared. Where is the family-instilled patriotism that
was evident in the '50's etc? If they're going to "carry the
colors" then they've got to get away from this media B.S.
The USMC and the discipline and dedication that reinforced my
values, is the savior (along with Jesus) of our country. If we
have to fight here, then let's get it done!
Clyde Hart, MCRD 1950
And I Quote...
"The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are
thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a
lie told well is immortal."
--Mark Twain
And I Quote...
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness
only that gives every thing its value."
--Thomas Paine
God Bless America!
Semper Fi
Sgt Grit
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