I didn't serve so...

As Veterans Day approaches, it is with pride that the well wishes and positive comments from fellow citizens will be accepted.  30 years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps is definitely an accomplishment of which I am proud.

I voluntarily joined the Marine Corps while in college, knowing it was my duty to do so.  My country was at war, and as both my father and grandfather had done in WWII and WWI respectively, I knew joining the military was the right thing to do.  A responsibility of citizenship.  Of course, unlike my father and grandfather, there was significant opposition to the war, particularly on college and university campuses.  Even meeting with the Marine Corps recruiters cast me as an outsider on campus, as some fellow students were more than eager to express.

After meeting with the Marines and learning of the programs they had to offer, I initially decided to enlist.  That decision was reviewed and revised a few months later, as seeking a commission as an officer of Marines became the new goal.  The objective was to serve three years on active duty, then return to civilian life, although at the time I wasn't sure what I'd be doing after a stint in the Marine Corps.  Nonetheless, I took the oath, signed the contract, and awaited my slot at Officer Candidate School (OCS).  In the middle of my junior year, my gal and I married, much to our amazement now, as we look back at how young we were at the time.  But I was employed full-time and going to school full-time, so it didn't feel like anything unusual to be married as well.  Around six months after the wedding, I departed for OCS during the summer between the junior and senior years.  (As an aside, I actually took a pay cut, entering OCS and departing my full-time civilian position.)  Little did I know this would be the first of many separations my wife and I would undertake as a result of joining the Marines.

OCS was successfully completed and I returned to my new bride, the full-time job my employer held awaiting my return, and full-time senior year in school.  (In the it's-a-small-world category, that school year we actually rented the same apartment in a duplex that had been my parents' first home.  They had met at the same university, where my father studied on the GI Bill after WWII.  The full story about the apartment will have to wait until another blog.)  Before long, we'd celebrated our first anniversary and ti was time to begin planning in earnest for the beginning of my Marine Corps career.  I was to be commissioned coincident with my graduation commencement.  First, I walked across the stage in my robe, with Dress Whites underneath, to accept my diploma.  The I removed the robe, donned my cover (Marine lingo for hat), and marched on stage, where a Marine Corps Captain administered the oath of office.  Remembering this was during the Vietnam War, it is remarkable to remember that the parents in the stands gave me a standing ovation, quite a different reaction than I'd received from fellow students that final year.

After graduation and commissioning were complete, our few belongings were packed and shipped to Quantico, Virginia, where the serious journey as a Marine would begin.  Though planning to serve three years, one thing after another occurred and it was 30 years later that I stood at attention at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, just after Morning Colors had been raised, and listened as my retirement  was officially announced in a proper Marine Corps ceremony.  Shortly thereafter, my final official act was serving as Reviewing Officer for the graduation of brand new Marines, who had just completed the infamous Marine Corps Boot Camp.  A perfect ending, as one old Marine marched off the grinder for the final time and hundreds of new Marines marched off to begin their own, unique journeys.  I must admit that, in the years that have passed, I look at a photo taken that day and wonder how many of those fantastic Marines may have given their all on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.

I served, when it was not popular to serve.  I served as a volunteer.  I served proudly, including ten years overseas.  I served, as my wife maintained the home and raised our two children, during the days, weeks, months, and years of absences.  (Our first child, our son, was born when I was overseas for the first time.)  I served to protect my nation.  I served to protect our way of life.  I served for God, country, and Corps.  I served for the Marine on my left and the Marine on my right.  I served because it was the right thing to do.  

I didn't serve and defend my country for three decades so:

• Elected officials could exempt themselves from the laws they pass that apply to everyone else.
• Illegal immigrants could receive drivers licenses from the State of California.
• Congress would avoid the Constitution by employing Omnibus appropriation bills, instead of individual bills.
• Legislators would pursue holding office for life, creating a permanent political class.
• The President of the United States would unilaterally violate federal law.
• The Senate Majority Leader would refuse to bring bills to a vote on the floor of the Senate.
• Congress would change the rules under which it operates, in order to gain political leverage.
• The media would fail to question and challenge each side of a political question.
• Taxes increased under the promise of improving public education would be diverted from it.
• Unions would control elected officials.
• The President of the United States would fail to act decisively in the international arena. 
• Legislators would authorize excessive spending.
• The national debt would raise beyond the value of our GDP.
• Elected officials would boldly and seemingly without penalty lie directly to the American people.
• The office of the President of the United States be reduced to an international laughing stock.
• College and university campuses would clamp down on the free speech rights of conservatives.
• The nation would become more divided, not less so.
• The Department of Defense would label white males as the problem within society.

As this Veterans Day approaches, I'll remember those with whom I served, honoring those who served before me, and those who have made so many sacrifices for our nation, including giving of their lives.  I will also honor the families, as they have endured countless sacrifices for our nation.  But I will not honor those elected officials who act in self-interest, rushing to strip from the veterans and other citizens the rights of self-determination, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion.