“…and for these years, you were my family…my family. and soon after, i had to say good bye. i mean, we laughed together, we cried together, we fought together…and now, now i have to leave you.”
today we had a ‘going-away’ for two very great Marines. normally, for a going-away party consist of a meeting of the departee’s section ( shop ) at a location were food can be aquired with a relaxed automosphere. we’ll eat, play, and talk for about 20 mins, bullshitting about whatever and then once the food and fun is done, we begin the speeches. the Marine leaving will stand infront his or her peers and the entire shop will give their little spill about the SNM ( Said Name Marine ). we’ll talk about our good times together and what we’ve taken from them, and how they’ve helped us grow. then, when thats done, the SNM will give their speech to either each Marine in the shop or to the entire section at once. this is followed by a plaque or some sort of measurable gift.
well, anyway, today, lets call them, Corporal L. and Sergeant R., well today, they got their moments in the light. i hardly knew the Sgt, but i know he did serve most of his time here and also Iraq. for what i heard, hes good to go. now the Cpl. on the other hand. hes someone i looked up to. he was a good Marine, and a great friend. i never understood how they can play with our emotions. how they tell us time and time again that we need to grow as close as possible with each other. that we need to know each other to the very last bone. then they send them away. Cpl. L was something else. he was like a big brother. knew alot, and was always there. it was hard to watch him stand there and say his last formal words to us. but atlas, this is what we do.
we welcome, care for, grow with, then let go. as Marines, its hard for when one of us goes down. very hard. its almost like we become a puzzel without a peice. everyone sheds their tear and moves on. to be honest, sometimes, i just feel upset and in grief for about that day and i move on. that can’t be good. i’m sure i’m holding back some feelings, but its not that i am trying to be manly or anything, but we learn to cope fast, and we learn to push through to accomplish a mission. in iraq, this is all more authentic. for the most part grievance just isn’t in our nature. anyway, i just wanted to state how the Marine Corps is going to miss out on a very good Corporal…and how i’m going to be missing out on a good friend…sigh