Semper Fidelis by junge1
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Description
These officers (white hats) and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) are part of the graduating ceremonies of Alpha Company, First Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Swords are for ceremonial purposes only and are part of the 234-year history of the United States Marine Corps. Officer swords have ivory-handles, NCO swords have leather-handles.
The NCOs in this picture are Drill Instructors (DI). They are directly responsible to make Marines out of the recruits in 13 weeks of boot camp. It is during these intial 13 weeks that the recruits learn that once a Marine, always a Marine and adhere to the credo Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful).
I went to see this graduation on the suggestion of a retired Marine friend of mine. I have a special affinity with the Marines-they guarded and protected us at DaNang AB, Vietnam in 1966-67.
My friend, and I feel priviledge to call him that, is a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant with 31 years of active duty service, 27 years of which in 'Force Recon'.
When I met him I didn't even know what 'Force Recon' was. He served three tours in Southeast Asia and was shot down and wounded three times. He was at Khe San while it was under siege (71 days). I saw on a a recent TV program on the Military Channel that during those 71 days B-52s dropped 100,000 tons of bombs, and another 150,000 tons of artillery shells were used. That is TONS, not pounds.
Much of what he did during his Force Recon days he can't and wont talk about, but it makes me realize how fortunate I was.
Our once a week breakfast is something we look forward to. It seems to have a curative effect for him.
What I also found out over the last couple of years is that he was in a Naval Hospital in San Diego a few years ago and had his thyroid radiated out (he things it was damaged by exposure to Agent Orange). He also has Malaria. When I asked him if it bothers him his answer was 'Only when I have the flu'.
What he also doesn't talk about other than the VA has been good to him is that he has at least four physicals a year and has psychological counceling.
It is primarily through these talks with him that I really appreciate the Marines. There haven't really been many places on this Earth where he hasn't been and this upload is dedicated to him.
Watching this graduation ceremony, the marching, the 234-year history, and the Marine Band, gave me the chills.
This picture was taken on 17 April 2009.
Thank you for viewing and commenting,
Sig...
Comments (32)
kgb224
Excellent capture my friend.
ysvry
great foto, intresting story, i wonder being close to so many tons exploding bombs does that bring you closer or farther away from God?
shadownet
Nice capture.
junge1
@ysvry. Good question. It brought him closer to God.
flavia49
Great tribute to your friend and to the U.S. Marine Corps. Sandra and I visited the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico (VA) three years ago and we took a lot of pictures there. Awesome Museum!
sandra46
GREAT PHOTO AND INFO!
jeroni
Wonderful and very creative work
bmac62
Well done Sig. Your photo gives us a great opportunity to see some members of "The Corps" up close. Well written dedication...hats off to the Force Recon men of the US Marine Corps. The Army employed similar small units in Vietnam and as you'll recall, called them LRRPs, short for Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols.
annie5
Wonderful capture..thanks for the info! :)
Minda
beautiful photo and great information sig!!
lucindawind
fantastic capture ! excellent info :)
duncanoooo
Total concentration!
Digitaleagle
Very interesting comments and capture!!!
casmindo
God bless him. My sister retired after 20 years in the marines just 18 months ago as a Gunnery Sergeant. Semper Fi
auntietk
Thank you for the story. Your personal touch brings meaning to the image, and provides depth and history.
Sea_Dog
Semper Fi! Great story and image.
renecyberdoc
it gives me chills to while i read the story,wonderful dedication to most certainly a wonderful guy. my wifes father was in the german u-boats inj WWII,and the only thing he was talking about this dark time in fact, was that the best what happened to him as when he was captured. or he was captured by the french in tunisis or lybia,and the french had no food either,so he and a friend ran away with the help of some "berbers" and they got captured by us forces. then he was shipped to south carolina,and he was treated very well,had his ham and eggs in the morning and he came back in 1945 as one of the first. americans treated him very well. greets to you my friend if i may call you so.
Osper
A great picture of a military tradition. The Marines have refined it to a "Tee".
whaleman
A fine-looking bunch of young fellows, and best wishes to them!
lyron
Great shot!!
PIERRE25
Excellent commentaire et superbe capture!
JeffG7BRJ
A great image and a wonderful and meaningful dedication to your friend Sig. I hope all these young men are around to relate some of their stories when their tour or enlistment comes to an end. Like your friend although injured several times and with malaria that will be with him all his days, he still has life and honour left, and still holds the faith. After 31 years service to his country, he deserves more really. An excellent tribute. Bravo!!!!! Wish your friend Gunny all the best from me Sig.
debbielove
Respect to you and indeed your friend... Soldiers seem to have a close bond, especially when they have been under combat conditions. 'Elite troops' even more so. My Cousin was a Marine (U.K.). He fought in the Falklands. He too, doesn't like to talk about what he saw there. My Father, both my Grandfather's were soldiers, even I was in the ATC was a while. (Air Training Corps). They all start instilling a bond in you. Once again, respect to you and your friend. Plus a great picture, my friend. Rob.
CavalierLady
Wonderful image and interesting narrative. Always have the greatest respect for the marines!
rawdodb
A Beautiful dedication to your good friend. Excellent Photo!
beatoangelico
fantastic capture... excellent image..!!!
flaviok
Excelente narrativa e captura meu amigo, aplausos (5)
Sylvia
~Awesome~ Thanks for sharing... EXCELLENT Capture!!! Heartful Dedication
emmecielle
Excellent capture! :)
dbrv6
Great capture and far more interesting backstory of how it came about.