The Marine Corps Ball

It was the evening of November 10th of 1979 and once again it was time to celebrate the Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine corps Ball was one event that I looked forward to each year and this time it was special because I wanted to take my new wife just for the exposure and for the memories. As we prepared ourselves for the Ball I couldn't help but ponder the fact that I was actually a member of one of the worlds most elite fighting forces. As we arrived at the Ball we had our pictures taken and then we mingled among the elite with friends. The Marines who showed up were ready to party and as for me I couldn't help but realize that these guys all had one thing in common and that was the preservation of our freedoms here in America. Some of these Marines had been through hell and back and had sacrificed their youth with unbelievable trauma, blood sweat and tears to survive. I soon sensed that this event was a somber silent movie of a passing review. We were rubbing shoulders with old timers and the young. There were WW-2 & Korean veterans and my Era of Vietnam war.

Their long list of credentials of rank and war time experiences were an open book as it was openly displayed on the uniforms. You could see the multiple Campaign ribbons, bronze stars, purple hearts with stars on them, combat experience and nasty scars to prove it. Rank ranged from 4 star generals all the way down to private.

Then it struck me, Living here in America is an honor and a privilege and yet we as a Nation have so much to be proud of and thankful for. Sacrifice is what the military is all about as young men and women are willing to come forward and serve our nation. It may be a time to to celebrate the birthday of the United Marine Corps and to wear the dress uniform which best displays our personal credentials of our experiences; but for those who were less fortunate and are still living in POW camps and living a lonely lives of pain and suffering or for those who are tucked away in the veterans hospitals who have been forgotten by the world they once knew, or for those who are spread out across the world in shallow graves and are seemingly forgotten, these are the ones who define the word "sacrifice". I continue to love the Marine Corps and all of experiences that I was exposed to as a youth. It was an honor to serve my country as a youth but like so many that arrived at the Ball ready to party there was almost a funeral home silence that hung in the air as we mingled among ourselves because of the reality of the obvious. Warriors among warriors just shaking hands and saying things like, "it's good to see ya".