Semper Fi

A friend writes to tell our little circle that her son has volunteered for the USMC, and leaves Monday the 16th for boot camp in San Diego.
Frankly, I have tears in my eyes.
What is it about my generation…so many of us did not serve, yet we — well, many of us, anyway, the ones who are Right Thinkers — are fiercely loyal to those who do. I don’t think it’s guilt. I think it’s homage to our parents who did serve and didn’t want us to have to serve. We missed Vietnam and so many of us sat on the sidelines during GW I. And then it was too late for us to sign up after 9/11, much as some of us wanted to.
This particular young man had a hard row to hoe. Single mother — not much money but always a loving household! — trouble in school, but eventually he ended up in military schools that brought out the man in him. He is courteous and well-spoken, handsome, and just a fine specimen of human being. I can’t imagine the Marines doing any less than making him even better than he is now.
Semper Fi, Alex. God bless you, and keep your powder dry.