Are you still a Marine? 

Trying to understand a Marine?

What is it about the adventure of becoming and being a Marine that makes it a lifelong experience?
This story—fiction based on events and real experiences of a single down-in-the-dirt Marine during the Korean War—is my way of answering that question.
This could be any Marine, in any war. With a violent war going on around, these men do not see the big war picture with the over-lay maps and arrows. They are, for the most part, men who do not know the philosophies and reasoning of the people who started their war. But what they do have on a daily basis in that war is fellow Marines with the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on the dungaree jacket. Trust me, that is enough.
Not one Marine in the history of the Corps will tell you that he gave more to the Marine Corps than it gave back to him. Each of us comes away with a bag full of personal strengths and treasures that we get to keep.
This is for all Marines with a story to tell, and for those who did not get the chance. My daughters say it is also for their loved ones who want to understand the Marine in their lives.

Donald F. McKenna

smartmouth@stillamarine.com