Semper Fi!
It was my privileged an honor to serve along the Marines when I was in the Navy. I have never seen a more dedicated, hard charging group of individuals in my whole life. This includes some drunken shore leaves, bar fights and even some military actions.
Happy Birthday, Marines!
Michelle Malkin posts the last blog entry by Specialist Fortunato. After posting this he was kill last Tuesday when hit vehicle was blown apart by an IED.
It’s worth reading, and remembering. Here is a brief part of it:
I am a proud American. i believe that my country allows me to live my life more or less however i want to, and believe me, i have seen what the alternative of that looks like. i also believe that our big scary government does way more than it has to to help complete [expletive deleted]-ups get back on their feet, a stark comparison to places where leaders just line their own pockets with gold while allowing the people who gave them their power and privilage to starve. I have chosen my corner. I back my country, and am proud to defend it against aggressors.
God bless you, and bless your family in their time of pain.
I remember where I was right down to what I was wearing that day, I was wearing my Gumdo shirt that day mainly because it was black and looked cool with my jeans and Doc Martin boots. I had figure drawing class and was sitting near one of the doors to the classroom across from the radio, mainly because I really didn’t want to listen to NPR but that was all that our drawing instructor would have on. I personally would have preferred something a little less sleep inducing, but his attitude was that the slow classical they played would help us focus. Well, all it really helped me focus on was trying not to fall asleep.
I was working on blocking in a cast shadow when the back of my brain heard the change on the radio. I know I really didn’t consciously hear it, but I’m so used to half listening to things that my brain caught it and played it back in my head for me, “We have just received reports that a plane has struck one of the World Trade Center towers…”
“Turn that up!” I called across the room to someone, I don’t remember who it was, and that got everyone listening.
Some, in fact most, thought it had to have been an accident but I knew, I honestly KNEW that it was intentional. Maybe it’s because of being in the military, maybe it was because of my family’s police background, or maybe I am just paranoid.
When the second plane was announced everybody knew it too, most of them didn’t know what happened, but they knew it wasn’t an accident. I thought about telling them what I knew it was, but instead I just packed up my stuff and headed home.
As we walked out of the class one of my classmates asked me “What do you think happened?”
“Terrorists.”
“No. Seriously? But, that kind of stuff doesn’t happen here.”
I just looked at him. “It does now. Might as well get ready for a fight because we aren’t going to take this laying down.”
I headed home and called my parents, they had heard about it too. We talked about how it had been out there ignored for a long time, how our government had ignored the problem and it had finally come to a point that we couldn’t ignore it anymore. We talked about what the government would probably do, and we talked about me dropping out of school and re-enlisting.
“Son,” My dad said in no uncertain terms, “you’ve already fought your war. Let the young guys handle this one. You gave them seven years and now you have other things that you need to do.”
I stayed in school, and now I’m in grad school, but I will never forget that day as long as I live, and I will never surrender.
To those who say that this war is illegal, unjust and being fought just for oil. I would like to ask them how many terrorist attacks have happened on US soil since we decided it was time to fight back?
Never Forget. Never Forgive. Never Surrender
**UPDATE**
Let us also not forget those ‘real patriots’ at the NYTimes that show it by selling out their own country in an attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
And for anyone who needs to be reminded of what Obama thought about this tragic day
