conover9@illicom.net -

From a speech by RADM J. Stark, USN, made in Newport, RI on 10 November 1995.

The first reason I like Marines: they set high standards-for themselves and those around them- and will accept nothing less.
I like the way Marines march.
I like the way Marines do their basic training whether it's Quantico, Parris Island, or San Diego.
I like the idea [that] Marines 'cultivate an ethos conducive of producing hard people in a soft age.'
I like the fact that Marines stay in shape.
I like the fact that the Marines only have one boss-the Commandant. And I like the directness of the Commandant.
I like the fact that Marines are stubborn.
I like the way Marines obey orders.
I like the way the Marines make the most of the press.
I like the wholehearted professionalism of the Marines.
It occurred to me that the services could be characterized by Different breeds of dogs...The Air Force reminded me of a French Poodle. The poodle always looks perfect...sometimes seems a bit pampered...always Travels first class. But don't ever forget that the poodle was bred as a hunting dog and in a fight it's very dangerous. The Army is kind of like a St. Bernard. It's big and heavy and sometimes seems a bit clumsy. But it's very powerful and has lots of stamina. So you want it for the long haul. The Navy, God bless us, is a Golden Retriever. They're good natured and great around the house. The kids love 'em. Sometimes their hair is a bit long... they go wandering off for long periods of time, and they love water.
Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat. That sounds like a Marine to me!
So what I really like about Marines is that 'first to fight' isn't just a motto, it's a way of life. From the day they were formed at Tun Tavern 221 years ago, Marines have distinguished themselves on battlefields around the world. From the fighting tops of the Bonhomme Richard, to the sands of the Barbary coast, from the swamps of New Orleans to the halls of Montezuma, from Belleau Wood, to the Argonne Forest, to Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima, and Okinawa and Inchon, and Chosin Reservoir and Hue City and Quang Tri and Dong Ha, and Beirut, and Grenada, and Panama, and Somalia and Bosnia and a thousand unnamed battlefields in godforsaken corners of the globe, Marines have distinguished themselves by their bravery, and stubbornness and aggressive spirit, and sacrifice, and love of country, and loyalty to one another.
They've done it for you and me, and this Country we all love so dearly. And they asked for nothing more than the honor of being a United States Marine.
And that's why I like Marines!

I know probably everyone here has stood through at least 1 change of command or even a base formation for Marine Corps birthday. Well I just recalled one from Hawaii. We ran through the paces and were in deuce gear (oh joy) anyway I am only about 5'6" so I was usually in one of the back rows. Well the band came through playing the national anthem and the took another turn and began the Marine Corps Hymm. Well I don't know about everyone else but I always used to get goosebumps all the way up my neck when they started playing the Hymm and as I was looking forward every Marines neck I could see had goose bumps. I tried looking as far side to side as I could without moving and found the same result. Always gives me a warm fuzzy thinking about it.

Not only as you grow older, but I don't see the camaraderie among veterans of other services as there is among ex-Marines. When my son graduated from boot in San Diego last year, I bought a Marine Corps Veteran hat, and several T-shirts. One was a picture of the Corps mascot running on the front, with the same picture on the back, only the view is from the back of the dog, and it is anatomically correct. This one I could not resist since I bought the same shirt thirty-five years for my wife, then sweetheart. My point is that whenever I wear these, I get at least two ex-Marines who come up and just say hi. We speak as if we were intimate friends, although we may have served 10 or 15 years apart. There is no other term for a veteran that carries the same connotation as does ex-Marine. It conjures up an image that cannot be matched by any other service. My wife has fended off unwarranted advances by simply working the fact that she is married to an ex-Marine into the conversation. Occasionally, there is even an apology. "Once a Marine always a Marine" is perhaps the truest statement I have ever heard, that unfortunately only those of us who served can understand. Then again, most of what I learned in the Corps has served me well, and is as true today as it was 37 years ago when I enlisted.

1945 - if you got drunk off duty your buddies would take you back to the barracks to sleep it off.
2000 - if you get drunk they slap you in rehab and ruin your career.

1945 - you were taught to aim at your enemy and shoot him.
2000 - you spray 500 bullets into the brush, don't hit anything, and retreat because you're out of ammo.

1945 - canteens were made of steel, and you could heat coffee or hot chocolate in them.
2000 - canteens are made of plastic, you can't heat anything in them, and they always taste like plastic.

1945 - officers were professional soldiers first and they commanded respect.
2000 - officers are politicians first and beg not to be given a wedgie.

1945 - they collected enemy intelligence and analyzed it.
2000 - they collect your pee and analyze it.

1945 - if you didn't act right, the Sergeant Major put you inX-Mozilla-Status: 0009 until you straightened up.
2000 - if you don't act right, they start a paper trail that follows you forever.

1945 - medals were awarded to heroes who saved lives at the risk of their own.
2000 - medals are awarded to people who work at headquarters.

1945 - you slept in barracks like a soldier.
2000 - you sleep in a dormitory like a college kid.

1945 - you ate in a mess hall, which was free, and you could have all the food you wanted.
2000 - you eat in a dining facility, every slice of bread or pad of butter costs, and you better not take too much.

1945 - we defeated powerful countries like Germany and Japan.
2000 - we come up short against Iraq and Yugoslavia.

1945 - if you wanted to relax, you went to the rec center, played pool, smoked and drank beer.
2000 - you go to the community center, and you can play pool.

1945 - if you wanted beer and conversation you went to the NCO or Officers' Club.
2000 - the beer will cost you $2.75, membership is forced, and someone is watching how much you drink.

1945 - the Exchange had bargains for soldiers who didn't make much money.
2000 - you can get better and cheaper merchandise at Walmart.

1945 - we could recognize the enemy by their Nazi helmets.
2000 - we are wearing the Nazi helmets.

1945 - we called the enemy names like "Krauts" and "Japs" because we didn't like them.
2000 - we call the enemy the "opposing force" or "aggressor" because we don't want to offend them.

1945 - victory was declared when the enemy was defeated and all his things were broken.
2000 - victory is declared when the enemy says he is sorry.

1945 - a commander would put his butt on the line to protect his people.
2000 - a commander will put his people on the line to protect his butt.

1945 - wars were planned and run by generals with lots of important victories.
2000 - wars are planned by politicians with lots of equivocating.

1945 - we were fighting for freedom, and the country was committed to winning.
2000 - we don't know what we're fighting for, and the government is committed to social programs (used to be called 'socialism').

1945 - all you could think about was getting out and becoming a civilian again.
2000 - all you can think about is getting out and becoming a civilian again.

Just as I, a WM, walked around the corner. The LCpl eyes got really wide and then he screamed, "HI MOM!!!"

I laughed so hard I just told him to "go away."

Thinking to myself that that was the quickest save she had ever seen from a drunk Marine.

Semper Fi - Cpl Heikkila

Any one of the above excuses pretty much captures the paralyzing effects of a fear that unfortunately runs rampant in too many work and home environments. Regrettably, I've seen this malaise in our beloved Corps. Marines who wouldn't hesitate to put their lives on the line to accomplish the mission, but who compromise themselves, and others, because they are afraid to do something as simple as request mast or report another Marine who has grievously violated our Core Values.

Some of us hesitate to face life's daily challenges while others take them in stride. A book written for children, but with lessons for adult's, illustrates my point with poignant clarity. In "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss, the author starts out by writing, "Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're off and away!" He tells us that we have choices and all the brainpower we'll ever need to face life's challenges head-on. He offers advice in rhyme for weathering fear, adversity and confusion, while emphasizing that despite hardships, you can be in charge of your own life.

Sooner or later, every one of us will get into trouble or make a mistake. Sometimes things just won't go our way. We can be soaring high one minute, but find ourselves in a mess the next. But we still have a choice. We can choose to do nothing about our misfortunes, or we can face up to our problems, whatever they are. Will we succeed? Well, according to Dr. Seuss, we're "98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed!" Please forgive my paraphrasing of Dr. Seuss' book, but its message is simple and important for us all: there are no "100 percent" guarantees in life. So if we make mistakes, take the wrong road in life, or things just don't go our way, it's important to remember that we choose how we will react to the situation.

Whether we admit it or not, all of us need to be loved. We may not use such terminology in our daily vernacular, but this "need to be loved" seems to motivate us to do some really significant things in life. Our need to be accepted and liked is important. It's critical to our survival. This might be a blinding flash of the obvious, but if you understand this truism about human nature, you will understand and cope better with others and thus the challenges that face us everyday in this less than perfect world we live in. More importantly, we'll be less inclined to fear what some might "try" to do to us when exercising our God-given right to speak out. We can challenge the system and demand its perfection. We can, and should, demand that our democracy work. Will things always come out our way? No! While the Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness, it's not a guarantee to happiness.

I must confess to having some of the same fears other people have. However, I refuse to let those fears consume me. I have a choice. A choice not based on rank, but based on how I choose to live my life. I choose to work on my own personal challenges and seek self-improvement. But I also 'look outside' and choose to speak out against injustice and intolerance. I choose not to ignore wrong doings, no matter how minor. I choose to use my eyes and the rest of the senses I have been given in order to perceive the world I live in.

My perception is tempered not from a perspective that is self-serving, but one deeply rooted in my faith in God. Thus, what is right is not based on what is right in my own eyes, but what is right in God's eyes (Judges 21:25). The words "So Help Me God" are spoken with conviction by me everyday, despite my own admitted personal imperfections.

My point is that I strongly encourage you to have the strength of your convictions to rock the boat in your own lives. There's nothing to fear. Don't give anybody the opportunity to control your destiny...the kind of control that no person should have over another. Remember, the pecking order that positions military leaders, bosses, and supervisors over us is actually organized to promote teamwork and efficiency. They're in those positions to help us become more productive. They're not supposed to be omnipotent powers that dictate our thinking, spirit and free will.

Keep in mind that others are dealing with their own faults. Be tolerant. Seek to understand them. But when you need to, don't be afraid to rock the boat! I'm not. Why should I be? I put my trust in God, not man. No man, no matter what earthly rank, will take God's place when it comes to doing what is right. So, if I want to request mast, I will. If I want to file a grievance, I will. If I want to fix what is broken, I will. Not only am I not afraid to rock the boat, I'll turn the boat over in order for truth and justice to prevail.

Follow these easy instructions with the aid of your family and friends to recreate the untold joys of Navy life.

Module 1 : Living Aboard Ship

1. Buy a dumpster, chip the paint off down to bare metal, paint it gray, and live in it for six months. {Coast Guard simulations use white paint.}
2. Run all the piping and the wires inside your house on the outside of the walls. Place eight handles on every door.
3. Repaint your entire house once a month.
4. Place metal barriers on the lower 18" of every door in your house.
5. Pump ten inches of nasty half sewage water into your basement. Pump it out, clean up the mess, and paint everything in the basement gray. Repeat frequently for added realism.
6. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday turn your water temperature up to 200 degrees, on Tuesday and Thursday set the temperature at 10 degrees. On Saturday and Sunday inform your family that they used too much water during the week and as a result all showering is secured.
7. Stack all beds on top of one another in the closet. Raise your bed to within six inches of the ceiling. Stow all your clothing and possessions in a 36" x 18" x 12" locker. If anyone is sick and throwing up put them in the top bunk.
8. Give the keys to your house to your next door neighbor. Have him enter your bedroom every morning at 0530 (5:30 am), and blow a whistle loud enough for Helen Keller to hear. Instruct the neighbor to shout in a amplified megaphone six inches from your ear, "Reveille, reveille, all hands heave out and trice up. The smoking lamp is lit in all authorized spaces."
9. Have your mother-in-law write down everything she is going to do for the following day. You and your family stand in the back yard at 0600 (6 am) while mother-in-law reads her "Plan of the Day" (POD) to you. Repeat this everyday except Sunday, unless you are simulating "at sea" in which case do it seven days a week.
10. Eat the raunchiest Mexican food you can find for three days straight, then lock the bathroom door for 12 hours. Hang a sign on the hatch (door) that reads, "Secured - Contact OA Div at X-3053."

Module 2 : Evolutions

1. Sit in your car and let it run for four hours before going anywhere. This is to ensure your engine is properly "lit off."
2. Before leaving or arriving at any location require your family to stand on the hood of the car for the preceding hour. [Special Sea Detail]
3. Empty all the garbage cans in your house and sweep the driveway three times a day even if they don't require it. [Sweepers]
4. Stand in the sun for an hour without moving a muscle while someone reads the Old Testament book of Numbers to you. [Change of Command, Retirement, etc.]

Module 3 : Work and Watch Standing

1. Perform a weekly disassembly and inspection of your lawn mower. If you miss a week or fudge complete disassembly, hold a trial and restrict yourself to the house for a month.
2. Require your family to qualify to operate all the appliances in your home (example: Qualified Dishwasher Operator, Qualified Blender Technician, Qualified Toaster Operator, etc.). Hold weekly one hour classes after working hours on such enlightened topics as "Breathing," "Hand Washing," and "Walking."
3. Walk around your car for four hours, check the tire pressure, oil level, and fuel level every 15 minutes and keep an accurate log (record book) of the readings.
4. Don your Sunday best and go stand on your front porch for four hours. [Tnx - CWO4 Al Canfield]
5. Periodically run your life on an "8 on 8 off" routine. Work 8 hours at your normal day job. Take care of your personal matters during the next 8 hours. On the next 8 hours off, have an 18 wheeler from your grocer distributor pull up in front of your house. Gather all your neighbors, form a human chain gang from the truck down to your basement (be sure to route it through the backyard to avoid "officer's country"). Pass all of the contents of the truck hand-to-hand down to the basement. Turn your cap around and go on your normal work shift. Repeat the process the next 8 off shift, but this time unload a truckload of high explosives. [Tnx - David W. Den Beste]

Module 4 : Quality of Life

1. Invite 200 to 1000 of your not-so-closest friends to come over. Board up all the windows and doors to your house for six months. After 6 months take down the boards. But, since you're on duty, wave at your family through the front window of your home. You and one third of the "friends" can't leave until the next day.
2. Shower, eat, and sleep with the above mentioned friends never more than an arm's length away. Instruct 10% of the "friends" NOT to shower on a regular basis and an additional 10% NOT to change clothes more than once a month.
3. Cook all your food blindfolded, groping for any spice and seasoning you can reach. Fry everything. Serve cold. [Special note: You must not gain weight on this diet and while locked in the house for six months.]
4. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month. Instruct them to lose every fifth item and to send every other week's mail randomly to Japan or Italy.
5. Spend $20,000 on a satellite system for your TV, but only watch CNN and the Weather Channel.
6. Have your 5 year old cousin give you a hair cut with hedge clippers.
7. Sew back pockets to the front of your pants.
8. Work at McDonalds for five years. Do NOT get promoted (even to "Fry's Manager").
9. Needle gun (compressed air powered impact device for paint chipping) the aluminum siding on your house after your neighbors have gone to bed.
10. Instruct your doctor to only dispense "aspirin" to you no matter what the ailment or complaint.
11. Gather all the neighborhood washing and mix the clothing in a pile. Rip off every other button, pour bleach directly on the pile, stuff the washing machine to maximum capacity, DO NOT separate by colors. Partially dry items and redistribute the "clean" items in a random fashion.

Module 5 : Leave and Liberty

1. Every couple of weeks, dress up in your best clothes and go to the worst part of town, find the most run down trashy bar, pay $10 per beer, and then walk home in the freezing cold.
2. Submit a special request chit (form) to your father-in-law, asking if it is okay for you to leave your house before 1500 (3 pm). You must submit the request form two days in advance. Instruct your father-in-law to hide for added realism.
3. Spend two weeks in the filthiest sea port red light districts of Europe, and call it "world travel."

Ah! Navy life! Sailors love to complain, but most wouldn't trade the experience for anything - once it is ten years in the past.

You're standing there in total pain, completely filthy, starving and finally you are looked at with respect from your DI's because you are one of them- you are a Marine. It was incredibly moving, I will never forget it. Looking back at the video I noticed that the guys were crying more than us gals :). We had one guidon for each platoon- and one series guidon. Whoever one whichever training section we were on had the guidon. But the Series Gunn had the power to take and give it to whoever. We won it once on integrity. They found a ton of food stashed in the other squadbay from the other platoon. We had none :)

SAIPAN - Today I saw two live Marines bring a killed Marine down from Mount Tapotchan in a jeep. The killed Marine lay on a litter; swathed formlessly in ponchos, and stale blood dribbles from his wrappings leaving splatters along the road. The body was lashed with strips of torn dungaree, but it rolled in drunken abandon on the lurching jeep.
There was no doubt that he was a killed Marine. But suddenly I had a feeling that this killed Marine was not dead. He was not dead any more than were those Marines who lay shattered on Beachhead 3 more than two weeks earlier while succeeding waves of Marines crept grimly past them toward hammering Japanese machine guns around the Charan Kanoa radio station. He and they were not dead.
I know this is a strange assertion, but I believe the Marines in battle do not die, though their bodies are rent in shreds. It is something peculiarly Marine that you do not feel in other armies. This is a delicate thing and I don't want to talk about it unless I can get it right. I am not talking about mysticism, and I don't mean immortality in a religious sense. Killed Marines may survive in the hereafter or they may not. I don't know about that. I meansomething probably no more palpable, but more immediate, thoroughly visible and intensely practical.
It is practical because it has the power to sustain the living unto death. It is a battlefield continually or immortality if you wish, conferred on killed Marines in the instant by death, by those who still live.
Marines do not treat their dead as do civilians nor as so the men of other armies. When a civilian dies, he ceases. His body is washed and painted and dressed into a grotesque imitation of life that emphasizes death and he is marked for dead with flowers and pomp and prayer that were not his habit in life.
In other armies, men accept their dead only with fear or anger or sorrow and - most tragic of all - with disbelief as though it were a monstrous thing that men should actually be killed in - action but Marines are casual about the fact of death and toward their own dead they are companionable.
They do not banish a dead man from them because a shell has torn him in two or a bullet has smashed his head. But they bury his body when there is time for burial. But when there is not, they have no compunction about sleeping beside him. And when there is time, they fashion him a cross for his grave, but even then they do not mark him for pointed segregation. There is a big Marine cemetery in Charan Kanoa, but there are also isolated crosses gleaming whitely in the midst of Marine activity on Saipan.
I think of three Marine graves together - a Protestant, a Jew and a Catholic - which lie between a medical station and a busy message center in a division command post. I think of a Marine who gave me a lift in a jeep in which he carried two newly painted crosses. "We're just getting around to fixing a couple of guys' graves before we leave 'em."
Marines are not angered or awed by deaths among them nor do they try to primp the shattered bodies into shabby facsimiles of life. They do not have time for the last, and they cannot afford the first. The casualty figures mount and you hear that friends have been killed in strange ways. One Marine says: "You remember Jim, the guy they called Pony Boy? He got his last night while they were taking that hill. Drilled him right through the eye. But they got that hill."
"But they got the hill." And there, perhaps, you have it. Pony Boy was mortgaged to death when he went over the side of the transport and he knew it because Marines accept the necessity that man shall die in battle. He lived to reach the beach, although others did not, but those who died in the water helped him reach it. He lived many days and he lived to kill. But last night, taking the hill, he got it through the eye.
"But they still got the hill." Sometime today maybe he'll be buried, but other Marines will be going on to the next hill, and they'll know they are also mortgaged to death. Pony Boy is killed, but the job he was doing still lives, and other Marines live to carry on the job from where he had to drop out with a bullet in the eye. And while the job lasts, while there are still more hills to take, and more Marines to take them, Pony Boy will not be dead. He will die perhaps when the last hill is taken.