Marine Corps Moms: Keeping Villanous Company

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December 15, 2004

Keeping Villanous Company

Cassandra's back . . . unleashed. Check out her new blog, Villainous Company, and put it on your favorites list. She's wickedly funny and always good for an aha! moment and a link to another great blog. Check out this must-read link to a post appearing on a new-to-me site, The Diplomad. Excerpt here, but do read the entire thing.

Among the MSGs at this post we have two fresh from combat in Iraq, and itching to go back. These youngsters, one 19, the other 21 (both younger than my kids!), seem genuinely puzzled when we civilians ask, "So what was it like?" They can't seem to believe that anybody would be interested in, much less amazed by hearing about coming under mortar attack or driving a truck at high speed down some "Hogan's Alley-type" street lined with crazed and armed Jihadists. They relate it in a shy, matter-of-fact manner, full of military jargon. And they want to go there, again.
Watching these guys as they pulled toys out of the big "Marines' Toys for Tots" box in the Embassy lobby and hearing their cheerful shouts of "Oh, cool! Check this one out!" I couldn't help but think, "They're kids. They're just kids. Probably not much older than the orphans to whom they'll give those toys." I kept thinking about my own kids, living safely in the States, and the fact that they're older than these kids, these Marines.

But then I went with the "kids" out to the gun range. Suddenly they became deadly serious. The "kids" disappear; no goofing around; strict discipline and concern for safety kicks in. They certainly know firearms, and treat them with respect and care. It was quite a sight to see the former "kids" deliberately, methodically pumping out rounds from their M-4s -- single shot, three-shot bursts, full auto -- punching out quarter-size groups in targets I can barely see. They don't look like kids, anymore. They look like Hollywood's idea of Marines; like the actors John Wayne "led" in "Sands of Iwo Jima." Now my thinking shifts to, "I wouldn't want to go up against these guys." And for a brief, very brief moment, I almost feel pity for the poor stupid thugs in Falluja who had dared tangle with the Marines, "You jerks haven't got a chance. Just call Dr. Kevorkian and get it over with."

Posted by Deb at December 15, 2004 12:35 AM

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Comments

Who in their right mind "itches" to go back into combat? The man who pleads to go into combat risks not only his own life but the lives of the men next to him and should bear that in mind before being so simple-minded.

Posted by: kotya at December 14, 2004 10:34 PM

Simple minded?

Or perhaps responsible.

It is only the simple-minded who cannot voyage outside their own narrow frame of reference. I would be terrified to be in combat, but having taken on odious duties and onerous tasks that I was glad to lay aside in my lifetime, I also know that, having done so, one feels a sense of responsibility to those still in the trenches.

Of course it is only those who care who feel that way. Perhaps that is why you cannot understand how these young men feel at leaving their comrades behind to face dangers they no longer face.

Every Marine who is not over there feels this way. My husband does. I cannot imagine him wanting to kill another human being. By the same token, he does not want his fellow Marines to face dangers without him there to share them. He, like others who have not been able to go, feels shame at not sharing that danger. It is agonizing to him. But although he has gotten over there for brief intervals, the Marines have decided his duty lies elsewhere, and he does his job. And grumbles a lot privately. And it eats at him constantly, and that eats at me because I love him.

I suppose you cannot understand that either. I wonder what, if anything, you are capable of understanding? From your comment, apparently not much.

Try reading a book - it expands the mind wonderfully. There are several excellent books written by soldiers. I'm sure your local library can recommend one.

Posted by: Cassandra at December 15, 2004 02:34 AM

I would put kotya's comments in the catagory of willful ignorance wrapped up in a package of smug superiority and your response?
...absolutely perfect.
Kotya...I would strongly recommend that you never, EVER mess with Marine wives. They are as tough, if not a little tougher, than their husbands.
semper gumby,
Carrie

Posted by: Carrie at December 15, 2004 08:10 AM

Cassandra, I couldn't have said it better myself. The loyalty and sense of responsiblity to eachother that the Marines display put me to shame and make me proud to be an American. It is unequal to anything I have seen in this world

Posted by: Mona at December 15, 2004 12:50 PM