A new Marine officer
Bookworm on Jun 26 2011 at 2:27 pm | Filed under: Military
Yesterday, I attended the commissioning ceremony for a newly minted second lieutenant in the United States Marines. It was a moving and inspiring experience, and I’m glad my son was there to witness it.
The reason I was there goes back more than thirty years. As I might have mentioned before, on the “real me” facebook, I’ve discovered that the people who were my closest friends in high school are the ones with whom I now have the least in common. They’re all ultimate, knee-jerk liberals, who still hate Bush and who worship the entire Obama package. The flip side of this slightly depressing discovery is that I’ve reconnected at a much deeper level with some high school classmates who were just friends, rather than best friends. These are the people who have learned, as I have, that old-fashioned values and small government are an excellent way to live a life and run a country.
A few weeks, I met up for lunch with one of those friends. It was the first time we’d seen each other in more than thirty years. My only complaint about the meeting is that she hasn’t aged. Frankly, that’s just not fair. Other than that, she was everything I remembered: lovely, intelligent, competent, and interesting. Her daughters take after her. Both are lovely, both are intelligent, both are competent, and both are interesting. The older one also lives life at warp speed. While the others are walking, she is running; while they’re sleeping, she is honing her skills at whatever interests her; while they’re talking, she’s singing.
The older daughter long ago realized that she wanted to be a Marine Corps flier, and she made that happen. She went to officer’s training and didn’t merely graduate, she was the top graduate in her program. In other words, a most impressive young woman.
When my high school classmate heard that my son, since he was two years old, has been committed to becoming a Marine (although he sees that as a mere stopping point on his way to becoming a SEAL), she said “Why don’t you come to the commissioning ceremony?” I was dubious at first, since I didn’t know her daughter at all. My friend assured me I wouldn’t be de trop, and I eventually concluded that my son and I, supportive of the military as we are (and especially of our Navy and Marine forces), wouldn’t be particularly out of place. As it happened, although he and I both felt a bit like interlopers, since we hadn’t seen this delightful young woman grow up, both of us were so glad we shared in the experience.
It was, to begin with, a very happy room. Even though I knew only my old friend (and my son knew only me), it was a pleasure to see so many happy faces. My son was also delighted that he was breathing the same air as a Captain, a Staff Sergeant, and several First and Second Lieutenants, all in dress uniform. (It turned out there was another Lieutenant there but, as he was in mufti, my son was unimpressed.)
The ceremony itself was short, but oh so sweet. The newly minted Second Lieutenant came in for remarkably consistent praise: hard working, enthusiastic, deeply committed to the Marine Corps and to personal excellence, a true asset to the service, etc. My son came away with the strong impression that the Marines are a place for the best and brightest.
What was clear from the speeches that the young Marines gave was that they deeply admire the service they’ve elected to join. They feel honored to be part of “the world’s biggest fraternity.” They watch each others’ backs, and they watch America’s back. Rather than seeing this as an onerous burden, they believe it’s a privilege. Seeing these young people gives one hope. As long as America can still produce people in their teens and twenties who don’t shy away from danger or hard work, who embrace discipline and responsibility, and who love their country, we must be doing something right.
So, congratulations Second Lieutenant K.C., of the United States Marine Corps! I know you feel lucky to have become a part of the fraternity, but I also know that the fraternity is lucky to have you.
Related posts:
- Why does it matter that he’s a Marine?
- Happy Birthday, Marines!
- You can help a retired Marine who is working to train America’s troops
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8 Responses to “A new Marine officer”
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Congratulations, 2ndLt!
Listen to your sergeants and learn, and never, ever give up.
Semper Fidelis!
SJBill sends
The Soldier’s Creed:
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
“When my high school classmate heard that my son, since he was two years old, has been committed to becoming a Marine (although he sees that as a mere stopping point on his way to becoming a SEAL). . .” Tell your son he has to join the Navy to become a SEAL! The Marines have their own spec-war training. (Although recently a handful of Coasties have gone through BUD/S, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.) As I am stationed in San Diego, if you and your son ever come down to SoCal, I can see about getting you a tour of the SEAL base on Coronado. We have both senior level Officers and Junior Officers from my community embedded with the SEALs and I worked with a Commander over there back when he was at 3rd Fleet.
A remarkable young woman. May our enemies fear you as much as the nation is honored by you.
“‘He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desert is small,
Who fears to put it to the touch,
And win or lose it all.’ – Montrose’s Toast
She has challenged her fate and paved her own road, nor is her rewards too little in value for the deed.
There is a reason why it is said the good die young while being evil promotes long life. It is because a life that burns brightly often burns shorter. Yet, even still, men and women choose the path of the Light against the Darkness.
Thank you Mrs. Bookworm. I am having the same experience with my highschool friends thru Facebook. It is a little disconcerting to me losing such old good friends over politics.
Think of it as a chance to make new and different friends. Life only has regrets and disappointments when you think it is taking something from you. But if it adds something of equal or greater worth…
[...] wrote the other day about the lovely commissioning ceremony I was privileged to attend. My friend wrote about it too, and about the larger implications for [...]
[...] Last Saturday, my older daughter received her commission as a 2nd LT into the United States Marine Corps, surrounded by friends, family and fellow marines. A friend of mine from high school wrote a lovely piece about it on Sunday. [...]