Marine Dress Blues

I would just like to weigh in on the dress blues conversation currently going on. If it was not for dress blues, I may have never joined our beloved Corps. You see, when I was a young lad of 17 my Dad took me to see the recruiters as I was interested in military service. The first recruiter he took me to was the Navy. We went in and discussed things a while and I took a preliminary ASVAB test in the office. I did well on the test and so the recruiter started telling me about the nuclear submarine program. He was pushing it hard. Being 6'1" I had no desire to be cooped up inside of a submarine underwater for months at a time. Incidentally, I have met a number of submariners in my life since that time and I have the greatest of respect for them. One of my regrets in life is that I probably never will be able to bust up through the polar ice cap and walk up at the North pole like most of them end up doing. That has to be one of the coolest things to do.

Upon leaving the Naval recruiters office the Marine Corps recruiters office happened to be across the hallway. It was closed when we first came in and it was now open. We stepped in and I was first introduced to Sgt Anderson (later to be SSgt Anderson) and GySgt Gross. They were in Marine PT gear and greeted me. GySgt Gross started to talk to me as Sgt Anderson slipped into the back area. He gave me some general information about the life of a Marine and all of the opportunities there are. Then Sgt Anderson stepped out and from that moment, I was sold. You see, he had slipped in the back and put on his dress blues. I saw those and I knew what I wanted to be. It didn't matter what the job would be. One of my first dates with my wife of 26 years was in those dress blues. I got married in them and we went to many Marine Corps birthday balls in them. I remember a company Gunny standing in front of a formation exhorting his Marines to go to the birthday ball and one of the things he said was no girl is going to refuse you a date to the Marine Corps birthday in your dress blues. Yes, these and many other reasons are why I love the Marine dress blues. I have enclosed a picture of my beautiful wife and I attending a Marine birthday ball in my dress blues.

Shawn Kane