The Few the Proud the Marines

The Few The Proud The Marines

Being a Marine is one of the greatest honorable things a person can do with his or her life. The Marine Corps experience is like no other, “Being a Marine comes from the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor that is tattooed indelibly on the innermost being of those privileged to earn the title.” Moskin (15) Before my brother became a Marine, my dad was one as well. But when my brother joined, it changed my view on the military dramatically. I have great respect for the men and women that serve our country. In particular my dad's and brothers experience made me interested in joining the Marines. I have come to realize that being a Marine isn't just about the paycheck it's about having pride and serving our country and wearing the title as a Marine proudly.

My brother was a different person before he joined the Marine Corps. I noticed his decision making was reckless. He started college on a basketball scholarship and in the beginning did well. But soon after he was going out and partying. During spring break he went behind my parents back to go to Mexico where he got drunk. On the way back home he and his two friends got into a very bad car accident. He says today about that time in his life that he didn't have much direction and didn't know what he wanted to do. “That type of thinking can only get you so far in life.”

During this period of time, I saw a huge change in my brothers attitude towards us as a family and me personally. Before the Marine Corps I called him my best friend and then he and I lost that close bond. I felt alone without my best friend who I told everything to. This turned out to be a very difficult time in my life.

My brother chose to join the Marine Corps to get the focus that he lacked in his life. He went to boot camp in May of 2008 at Parris Island, South Carolina. He says that while he was in the Marines it was a “love hate thing”. “I loved it because it made me who I am today, it has made me more focused, more disciplined in how I carry myself. There was hate because there was a loss of independence and spontaneity. One downside was that the government owns you once you sign on the dotted line but they still allowed me to be independent under strict guidelines.”

My dad's experience in the Marine Corps was quite different than my brothers. Compared to my brother my father did not get the chance to experience college life like my brother did. My dad was only eighteen when he joined and my brother went in when he was twenty. Like my dad my brother was forced to live within the Marine Corps permaters for four years. My dad wanted to be an Air Force pilot out of high school and he wasn't given the opportunity