I have never really understood any of the USMC people that I have met in my life but the impression that they left on me was. "Thank the Lord they are on my side." Please read and maybe you will understand sometimes why I am what I am.

Poem from a Marine

This is a poem being sent from a marine. For those who read it, please pass it on to all those you know.
It makes you truly be thankful for all of our troops.

THE MARINE

We all came together,
Both young and old.
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.

I give you the right
To talk of your peace,
To stand in your groups,
And protest in our streets.

But still I fight on.
I don't bitch,
I don't whine.
I'm just one of the men
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine,
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.

Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young,
So they all may have,
The great freedom you've won.

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor.
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom
You'll stand when the fight's done.

~Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert
~ ~UNITED STATES MARINE~ ~
'USS SAIPAN, PERSIAN GULF~
MARCH 23, 2003

HEY DAD, DOWN HERE.
Do me a favor and label this "THE MARINE"
and send it to everybody on your distribution list.
Even leave this paragraph in it.

I want this rolling all over the U.S.
I want every home reading it. Every eye to see it.
And every heart to feel it.
So can you please send this out for me?
I would but I am sorta on the USS SAIPAN
and my e-mail time isn't that long.
You know what Dad, I wondered what it would be like
to truly understand what JFK said in his inaugural speech,
"When the time comes to lay down my life for my country,
I do not cower from this responsibility, I welcome it."
Well, now I know. And I do, Dad, I welcome
the opportunity to do what I do. Even though I
have left behind a beautiful wife, and I will miss the birth
of our first born child, I would do it 70 times over to fight
for the place that God has made for my home.
I love you all and I miss you very much.
I wish I could be there when my wife has our child,
but tell her that I love her, and Lord willing,
I will be coming home soon.

~SEMPER, FI.~ ~AARON~

*Please KEEP AARON AND HIS WIFE AND HIS UNBORN CHILD IN YOUR PRAYERS

DE OPPRESSO LIBER -- CARGO DROP SENDS!
SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION
MEMBER # D-5753-LIFE
LIFE MEMBER, COMBAT MEDICS ASSOCIATION

"You have never lived until you have almost died.
Life has a special meaning the protected will never know."
-- motto of the Special Operations Association

"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

People sleep peacefully in their beds only because rough men
stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
-� George Orwell

Courage doesn't dissipate. The more you use it, the more it grows.

Do Draft Dodgers have annual reunions? Yeah. They're called sessions of Congress, and they talk about your future instead of their past. -- Jim S., Special Forces Soldier

Here's to us and all like us. There's been damn few before or since.

The Occasional Scholar

"I want to be in the company of heroes doing great things,
but if I cannot do that, I want to at least tell their tale."
Keep your powder dry and your flints sharp

Peace on earth to all men of good will,
and sharpen your sword for the rest of the bastards.