Posted by
Keith Arnold on Friday, November 10, 2006 9:28:31 PM
Tomorrow will be Veterans' Day, a day set aside for the rememberance of those who have served this nation in its military services - and to each of you who have served, I thank you for it; it is my hope that each person who lives free in this land will remember that their freedom is owed to the many who have been willing to take arms against enemies.
Today, however, is a day I remember for an only slightly different reason; for today, November 10, marks the 231st anniversary of the creation of the United States Marine Corps. Of all the branches - and no, there will be none of the usual jokes comparing the various branches in this commentary - the Corps has the greatest sense of mission and duty, and the richest traditions. The mere mention of the word "Marine" conjures up thoughts of far-flung places with names like Mount Suribachi, Chosin Reservoir, and Belleau Wood, where men earned renown that will never end through valor, in the face of hardships and enemies most of us could never imagine.
I never served. To my dying day, one of the greatest regrets I will ever have is that I allowed myself to be persuaded to go directly from high school to college instead of serving in the military, and perhaps my remorse is a reason I hold America's servicemen in just a bit higher regard.
But I know many who have served, and I thank you all. Thank you for my freedom, which you earned on my behalf. Thank you for protecting me and those around me. And especially the Marines - thank you.
I want to highlight one Marine in particular - my father. My father served in the Marines for well over twenty years, in the Corps, achieving the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant, and I believe deep in my heart that he would have become the Sergeant Major of the Corps if the man holding that office would have retired. My father went off into combat, and was one of the thousands of good men about whom John Kerry lied and smeared in the 1970s, making a public name for himself at the expense of all those men who served honorably. My father gave two decades of his life and a good part of a third to the service of our nation and its ideals.
My father, like most Marines I have known, is also a good and gentle man, living a quiet life. He and others like him make a lie out of the stereotype we are fed in the movies.
Through no fault of his own, I and my brothers didn't have the advantage of growing up with my father, much to my loss. I was never able to really get to know him until I had gone off to college, and I am glad I did. Without idealizing him, my father came to be one of the best examples of a good man I have had the privilege of knowing.
Dad, I didn't get to learn from you how to change a spark plug or go to my right for a hot grounder as a kid, and that wasn't your choice. But I and millions of kids like me had you and a Corps of men like to to stand between us and those who would do us harm, and I hope all of us realize what a gift that is.
Dad, and to all the men who have earned the title of United States Marines, thank you for your service. Tomorrow, this thank you extends to all the branches, but today, this day and my thanks belong to the Marines. No matter how far this country drifts away from its moorings, somewhere in this country, there will be a metal box on a wall with a sign that says "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS." On the other side of that glass, there will be a Marine, ready to stand in harm's way for this nation. God bless you and reward you, and may the Corps have many, many more birthdays.
- Keith