About that Marine Life

“That’s what the Corps does to you.”

“Yes it does.”

“There have been Marines killed in action.”

“Salute.”

“Salute.”

“But there have been Marines who have had burns, snake bites, arms and legs ripped off, ant bites, frostbite, dysentery, cholera, being blown to bits and all kinds of blows to the torso.”

“Church.”

“Church.”

“With the knowledge that all the branches have suffered similar situations, it puts into perspective the amount of truth that advertisements skip over. Respectfully.”

“They never show a Devil Dog swabbing the deck of the head either!”

“Facts!”

“Facts!”

“It’s good. When you’re nineteen or twenty-two years old, and you want to be that man or that woman that is the uber one, you’re going to want to prove your mettle.”

“I know I did.”

“I did, too. I thought I could fly around the globe and turn back time.”

“And neither of us were touched by the enemy. And we were in it.”

“We were in the thick of the thick of it.”

“Three tours just left me with a bad knee and a bad shoulder. Other than that, I was alright.”

“I didn’t even have those problems. I could reup right now.”

“I would, too.”

“I’m ready and we’re not even at war.”

“‘Peace time.’”

“‘Peace time.’”

“They’re out there. When I was in the hospital for my shoulder I met a guy who said he knows people in this country who are not here for jobs or to make money.”

“Who we were fighting are already over here, you’re saying?”

“I’m not saying anything.”

“I don’t doubt it. Whoever we fought in the sand box or the mountain tops are being sponsored. I don’t mean to get spooky.”

“It’s fine. I thank you for being real. We know what the truth is. It doesn’t matter what brass or who is in office as the commander in chief. We just get the work.” We put in work.”

“That’s right.”

“And we’re still sitting here. God didn’t do it.”

“That’s right. We live in reality. No god or society could have delivered us out of those positions in which we found ourselves.”

“Nobody’s going to understand that we didn’t have to pray in a foxhole or look to socialism as our comfort.”

“We kept capitalism as our faith and the rifle as our guide. We knew that we had to put warheads on their foreheads. As much as the faithful in the theory of the unknown and unknowable want to blank out, we killed. They’re really wishy washy. They know our role is to eliminate the threat. They wish we were all corpsmen doing what we can to patch everyone up and keep esprit de corps. Such is not the case. It’s blood and guts.”

“They don’t show that in the commercials either.”

“Again, for good reason. That’s great for the province of art. The gore and realism can be too much in films. If we had stories that just showed honor vs cowardice without all the messiness, then that’s the kind of war movie I can support.”

“No matter what, we still have real patriots in this country, goddamnit. Kids from the back roads and off the block and from well-to-do backgrounds all come into the Green Gun Club ready to do the selfish work.”

“This is the work of self-defense, self-regard, and self-respect. How can this Marine life not be selfish?”

“They can teach all upcomers and salty ones too, that the whole point the recruiters said about all the pay and bennies was true.”

“I know my recruiter didn’t lie. I’m compensated for my injuries even if I did not incur any of them from the enemy.”

“You were too busy putting rounds down range.”

“Robots will be much better than sending American men and women to fight.”

“That’s the truth.”