A Day of Celebration and a Day of Remembrance​

 

As Memorial Day approaches and social media begins to stir, we see comrades, now long in the tooth and separated by years and thousands of miles reaching out to one another. There are the obligatory memes urging the uninitiated to sit up and take notice.  And then there are the photographs of those whose lives were lost. I am compelled to confront myself and try to figure out how this day truly makes me feel.

When I was in the Marine Corps and spending a fair amount of time deployed, understanding Memorial Day kind of came along with the territory.  Events were unfolding around me all of the time.   It was almost a blur, and I never actually took the time to sit down and think about it.  But now, after a few years in retirement, I have come to realize that I carry some baggage. I still see the faces of those splendid young men that God saw fit to briefly connect me with and become a small part of their precious lives and then just as quickly, whisk them away. I contemplate their deeds and their decisions; I find myself humbled, and at the same time, proud to have had the privilege of knowing them.   Those men were patriots, and they were millennials.  Youthful, idealistic, and awash in the intense heat and sand right there with the rest of us.    They were courageous, worthy, and brilliant young men who walked the walk and now stand with God, knowing only peace and love.

There have been a great many patriots both men and women who have chosen to marshal into the ranks and have found themselves eye to eye with people meaning to do them harm. They cast off their own fears and selflessly bestowed upon us the most meaningful gift a person can give, the gift of conviction, nobility, bravery and ultimately their lives. They leave behind a massive pair of shoes for the rest of us to try and fill.

How do I feel about Memorial Day?   I am humbled, I am intensely proud, and I am saddened, and I suppose it will always be that way until my days here are done.

We are all better people for having known these magnificent examples of humanity we call our brothers and sisters in arms.

So, go forward tomorrow and surround yourselves with the love and admiration of your families and friends. Enjoy yourselves, but when the thought comes to you, crack open a beverage of your choosing, have a seat and ponder what it means. Acknowledge the selflessness of our brothers and sisters with a moment or two of silence and be resolute in knowing that their sacrifices have forged into our souls the desire to demonstrate the same bravery and kindness of heart. That is what they would want, and they are watching.

Have a fantastic Memorial Day and Semper Fidelis.

MGUNNS SENDS

The right call

OK, I don’t really like to make too much political commentary. I find it boring and ultimately depressing. But I am getting worn out hearing the debate about whether the stars and bars ought to remain as the South Carolina or Mississippi state flag. Here are the facts according to Lathrop:

– One of the arguments I have heard that supports keeping the stars and bars right where they are is that many are uninformed about its origin. The confederate flag as we know it isn’t actually the confederate flag, but the battle standard of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army of northern VA.

So my response to that is this:

WTF does this have to do with anything going on now? Pointless banter, and a weak supporting argument, and I don’t care if Bill Clinton and Al Gore used the image to further their Presidential campaign in 92. Those two (and many others) are of low moral fiber and gladly would pander to anybody to get themselves into a position of power.

– Another is that many in the South don’t want the memory of their ancestors to fade away. Ancestors that fought in the confederate army not to keep slavery, but instead fought for states rights. To that I respond:

BS.

What other prominent events were ongoing during that time?What other events somehow perceived as Northern aggression justified the decision to secede and go to war with the union beside the Emancipation Proclamation and the abolition of slavery? States rights? My ass. If somebody kitted up, grabbed their weapon and took to the tree line in a gray uniform, then they did it to preserve something that they viewed as vital to their agricultural economy and equally important to their culture.

BL, regardless of what some are saying about Southern traditions, or the values of the old South. The confederacy rebelled, and committed an act of treason, then were defeated….Period. The stars and bars has a place…. in our schoolbooks alongside all of the other historical events that make up our country’s heritage and defines the diversity of our nation, and certainly not as a legitimate representation of one of the United States. Any more than the flag of Great Britain should represent any of the thirteen original colonies.

And make no mistake, for many that flag does represent a culmination of all of the shameful things that did happen that were in fact part of the history of the south, things like Jim Crow, the klan, the attacks, bombings, lynchings, and the blatant prejudice that was and apparently still is in existence, at least to a degree.

Integrity and choosing to do the right thing are the important issues here. SC and MS are part of the United States of America. Pick a new state flag.

MGunns Sends.

Truth

Men, Special Forces is a mistress. Your wives will envy her because she will have your hearts. Your wives will be jealous of her because of the power to pull you away.

This mistress will show you things never before seen and experience things never before felt. She will love you, but only a little, seducing you to want more, give more, die for her.

She will take you away from the ones you love, and you will hate her for it, but leave her you never will, but if you must, you will miss her, for she has a part of you that will never be returned intact. And in the end, she will leave you for a younger man.”

– James R. Ward, OSS

The path we choose

I have been extremely fortunate during my career as a United States Marine.

Soon after I enlisted and became a grunt, I volunteered for an extremely physically and mentally demanding indoctrination / selection required for gaining assignment into what is called a Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon (STA).  Basically a fancy way of saying Marine Scout Snipers.

Successfully getting through the indoc and eventually receiving orders to the Sniper Plt was a considerable challenge. What we wound up with at 3/9 STA was a group of very fit, and well motivated young Marines who didn’t require much other than continued instruction into the new world of sniper tactics, marksmanship, the use of supporting weapons and generally an ample amount of preparation for hopefully getting the chance to attend Marine Scout Sniper School.  Marine Scout Sniper School is one of the most academically and physically challenging courses of instruction in the DoD.  (When I graduated only eight of an original class of twenty five managed to complete the course).

This preparation we received in spades .. every day.

The definition of a Marine Sniper: A Marine highly trained in field skills and marksmanship who delivers long range precision fire on select targets and targets of opportunity from a concealed position in support of combat operations.

This and other definitions were seared into my brain daily and whoa be it for the individual who can’t recite on demand.

It’s been a great many years since I carved my original niche and it has basically shaped my entire career.  You know I truly believe that most of us have one or two defining moments while serving, one or two revelations that chart the path for the rest of the time we spend in the Profession of Arms. This is probably true for life in general.

My first came early and it involved suffering through much discomfort, bad weather, hypothermia, hunger, long hikes and tattered feet to finally emerge from the darkness in tact and feeling as if nothing on this planet could hurt me.

These experiences we carry with us for life.

Most of the Marines that I served alongside in the beginning have gotten out, gotten married, had a family and moved on to other pursuits.

A few of us remain …. and continue to chew the dirt.

SgtMaj Michael Barrett, my first Plt Sgt in STA and now the Senior Enlisted Marine in the entire Marine Corps. That’s right the SgtMaj of the whole Marine Corps.

Plt PT was a somber occasion with that Marine.  We never sang cadence when we ran because if you had enough air in your lungs to sing than you hadn’t properly placed yourself in oxygen debt and you needed to be working harder. I was in the Corps for years before I ever realized that once in awhile PT could be fun, that I didn’t have to run myself sick every time or that I didn’t have to seek out and climb the steepest hills Camp Pendleton had to offer (and there are many to chose from).

Years later when I showed up to my next command working with a new group of people and went to Company PT, I wondered aloud why the hell everyone was so happy? What the F*@& is wrong with these people?   Didn’t they know we were about to get destroyed running for miles at some ungodly pace? It was then that I realized not everyone in the Corps was part of 3/9 STA and had the unique experience of  trying to keep up with Mr. Barrett,  Hell, for a long time that was all I knew.

SgtMaj Brian Zickafoose, now the Senior Enlisted for all of 2nd Marine Division, and if it were up to me he would be the one replacing SgtMaj Barrett when he decides it is time to cut away.

Believe me when I say PT with him was no better.  Every morning bright and early UDT’s, running shoes, no shirt and off we went.  There were no organized sports, no elliptical trainer, no basketball games. You simply ran as hard as you could to the top of the hill, vomited, than ran back down.  Then we went to the gym and moved a lot of heavy stuff around.

If we weren’t doing that then we were kitted up and ruck marching up every damn hill on the base.  The ruck march .. the great equalizer … you could talk all of the smack you wanted, but put 60 lbs of gear on your back and take off at a 4 MPH pace, you better have much intestinal fortitude and can not just hang with it but actually lead.  No BS’ing your way out of that.

All of this is very old school by today’s standards of cross-fit, pilates, zumba, spin etc. (To this day my PT program has changed very little, I still run hard, and pick up heavy things although now I am not as fast and I am also not afraid to take a day off now and then).

Run as hard as you can, than move heavy stuff around … pretty simple.

SgtMaj Vidaurri Higgins. He retired a few years back but when he did it was as the SgtMaj for all of MCAS Yuma.  He would thrash us too, but with him every step of the way we were being mentored to be better Marines. He would run our butts off, but along with making us stronger, his intent was to make us better NCO’s and better leaders.

I ran into some good leadership once I transitioned over to Bomb Disposal (EOD), but I have to say that the day to day mindset in EOD wasn’t the same as as what I had come from and some adjustment was needed.  I figured this out the day I showed up to a joint service EOD school and was named as the NCO in charge for my EOD class, (typically Marine Sgt’s get picked to do this).  I spent more than my share of time getting counseled by the Air Force senior enlisted (an E9). I was continually told that I couldn’t call the Air Force students in my class names like jack ass or fuck stick,  I couldn’t make them do eight count bodybuilders when they showed up for training late and hung over, couldn’t yell at them for not having their uniform in pristine condition every morning, and they didn’t have to attend my class PT runs if they didn’t want to.  What could I say?  This was how I grew up, it was all I knew.

Truth be told everything I had learned from my past leadership served me very well throughout my career.  This continues to this day.

Today when I see the SgtMaj of the Marine Corps he comes up with his characteristic grin, gives me a hug, calls me an old knuckle dragger (this is a compliment by our standard) and makes sure to reiterate that there are only a few of us left still in the fight.

Once in awhile I get a message on my cell phone from SgtMaj Zick where he  admonishes me for not answering my phone, then loudly reads off his number and in a threatening tone demands that I ensure it is properly recorded and subsequently used in the event I need something.

SgtMaj Higgins, as I said, buttoned it up a few years back. He sent me an invite to his ceremony which to this day I regret not being able to attend, but I was with my crew training up in the Stumps. Wherever he is I know he is doing well working hard and teaching others how to be better people.

Being a great believer in fate and destiny, it seems pretty clear that the path I have travelled and the time I spent with all of these individuals was instrumental in any success I have  achieved and hope to achieve in the future.  They taught me professionalism, intensity, work ethic, accountability, and equally as important, to look out and care for one another.  I was taught as a Marine NCO I should strive toward perfection, to continually challenge myself at my weakest points, to hold my feet to the fire, and in doing so to also understand that the few of us who do this must learn that things don’t always go our way, and when faced with the possibility or even the reality of failure, to do a very small amount of soul searching, then get back up, dust off and assault straight back into the fray until success is ours.

These men are patriots and the lessons I have learned from them I will carry with me all of my life.

Just me talking

MGunns