Where Marines Are Made

By kellz1227

To everyone who has or has had a loved one in boot camp:

Thousands of San Diegans drive past MCRD on the 5 freeway every day
They are on their way to work, the beach or back home.
They are going out to dinner with their family,
Going for a bike ride at the bay, picking someone up at the airport.
They are bailing someone out of jail, boarding a cruise ship,
Heading to a night at the Gaslamp.
They have their radios blaring and their eyes straight ahead when they pass it.
MCRD
Some have passed it every day and have never noticed it.
The lush trees...yellow buildings jutting through.
A field of dirt and dead grass where Marines are made.
And as cars speed by and airplanes land and take off,
life as we know it stands still at MCRD.
Life stands still yet roars by.
If the lawyer on his way to his downtown office on a crisp Monday morning turned down
the talk radio show and glanced to his right, he just might see recruits drilling.
He might see recruits drilling and running and climbing the rappel wall.
He might hear their raspy shouts.
But he doesn't.
He continues to drive, a coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other.
There is an invisible wall that separates the world from MCRD.
Millions of people pass it every year and never notice it.
The thousands of young men who sleep, eat and sweat there for 3 months
are separated from the world by a thick barrier.
Maybe that barrier is courage.
But every Friday that barrier cracks.
Families and friends pour in to MCRD to see their sons, grandsons, husbands, boyfriends, brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins and best friends for the first time in 3 months.
And when each whirlwind Friday is over, when each recruit proudly boasts the Eagle Globe and Anchor and is now a Marine, these men surge through the gates of MCRD and back into the world... whether it is ready for them or not.
Thousands of San Diegans drive past MCRD on the 5 freeway every day
They are on their way to work, the beach or back home.
They are going out to dinner with their family,
Going for a bike ride at the bay, picking someone up at the airport.
And somewhere, despite the constant roar of the airplanes, a drill instructors shouts orders to his platoon.
Somewhere, a recruit writes a heartfelt letter to his mother.
Somewhere, Marines are being made.
But the world would never know it.

A Poem by Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert for his Dad

This is a poem being sent from a Marine to his Dad.
For those who take the time to read it, you'll see a letter from him to his Dad at the bottom. It makes you truly thankful for not only the Marines, but ALL of our troops.

THE MARINE

We all came together,
Both young and old.
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.

I give you the right
To talk of your peace,
To stand in your groups,
And protest in our streets.

But still I fight on.
I don't bitch, I don't whine.
I'm just one of the men
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine,
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.

Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young,
So they all may have,
The great freedom you've won.

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor.
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom
You'll stand when the fight's done.

©Copyright March 23, 2003 by Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert

HEY DAD, DOWN HERE,

Do me a favor and label this "THE MARINE" and send it to everybody on your distribution list. Even leave this paragraph in it. I want this rolling all over the U.S. I want every home reading it, every eye to see it, and every heart to feel it. So can you please send this out for me? I would but I am sorta on the USS SAIPAN and my e-mail time isn't that long.

You know what Dad, I wondered what it would be like to truly understand what JFK said in his inaugural speech, "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it."

Well, now I know. And I do, Dad, I welcome the opportunity to do what I do. Even though I have left behind a beautiful wife, and I will miss the birth of our first born child, I would do it 70 times over to fight for the place that God has made for my home.

I love you all and I miss you very much. I wish I could be there when my wife has our child, but tell her that I love her, and Lord willing, I will be coming home soon.

Semper Fi
Aaron