The Marine

Buster is quite taken by the Marine in his "dress blues". We all were. The Marine is Husband's nephew and is thusly attired for attending his grandmother's funeral this morning.

Last night we stayed up late viewing photos on the Marine's laptop and hearing fascinating stories of his experiences in Iraq and elsewhere. Quite a guy he is.......he remodels houses, restores tractors, repairs minesweepers, coaches softball on the military base.........amongst all that activity, somewhere along the way he managed to injure his back and required surgery a year or so ago. If I recall correctly, he sustained the injury while lifting a motor in Iraq, where he worked as a mechanic, maintaining the various large and small vehicles used out in the field. He proudly showed us this x-ray view of the innards of his lower back.......put aside your squeamishness and click to enlarge the photo to see the screws and rods securing his vertebral column.

Read about the meaning of the Marines' motto, Semper Fi........here......and here. This Marine's grandfather---Husband's dad---was drafted during the Korean Conflict and spent three years in the Marine Corps, not something he was very happy about. He was all set to get married and start farming when the draft call came. He was stationed in Japan and worked as a telephone operator, fortunately never sent to the battle fronts. He had some good stories to tell, though.

This Marine visiting us today is smart, kind, and tough, not backing down for anyone or anything. Not surprisingly, besides being "always faithful", the Marine shares a motto with Taz.....on the mudflaps......"BACK OFF"!


This Marine will be deployed to Iraq again in February. He seems to be looking forward to another tour over there......its his job. God bless him.
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