My Wife and I did a difficult thing.....
- Thread starter JHS
- Start date
JHS,
One of the proudest moments on my life was when I marched across the parade ground at MCRD San Diego for the final time. I know it was a proud moment in my parents lives too. They were there to watch me graduate. Make sure you get there for graduation to watch your son standing tall.
One of the proudest moments on my life was when I marched across the parade ground at MCRD San Diego for the final time. I know it was a proud moment in my parents lives too. They were there to watch me graduate. Make sure you get there for graduation to watch your son standing tall.
paratrooper
New member
He has a new mommy now . One with real short hair that will scream in his face 26 hours a day . This man will be the rudest , loudest , most disrespectful , unforgiving taskmaster in your sons heretofor short life . Your son will see times when he will wish that he had gone into the ministry or organic gardening in New Mexico with a group of UFO believers .
If you have instilled enough sense in him he will realize that this brute of an overbearing cretin is doing his level best to make sure he comes home with a smile and not in a body bag . This maniacal savage will bring out things your son did not even realize were in him . He will do things on a daily basis that only a short time ago would seem physically impossible . He will run when he thinks he can cannot even walk . He will swim when he fears he cannot even float .He will survive when it looks like all he can do is die .
You gave this man a boy . He will give you a man . When you see him thank him in advance for your boys life if it ever comes into any jeopardy . Give him my best .
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TOM
SASS AMERICAN LEGION NRA GOA
If you have instilled enough sense in him he will realize that this brute of an overbearing cretin is doing his level best to make sure he comes home with a smile and not in a body bag . This maniacal savage will bring out things your son did not even realize were in him . He will do things on a daily basis that only a short time ago would seem physically impossible . He will run when he thinks he can cannot even walk . He will swim when he fears he cannot even float .He will survive when it looks like all he can do is die .
You gave this man a boy . He will give you a man . When you see him thank him in advance for your boys life if it ever comes into any jeopardy . Give him my best .
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TOM
SASS AMERICAN LEGION NRA GOA
JHS - Our son took that same plane ride in 1989.
Expect rather frequent, but brief, letters. I don't know which was the prouder moment for Michael - his graduation on the parade ground, or when he qualified as Expert on the rifle range.
Your son has taken a giant step - may he persevere and excel and know that he has loving parents supporting him.
Cliff
Expect rather frequent, but brief, letters. I don't know which was the prouder moment for Michael - his graduation on the parade ground, or when he qualified as Expert on the rifle range.
Your son has taken a giant step - may he persevere and excel and know that he has loving parents supporting him.
Cliff
JHS,
Please heed the houndawg's advice. If you think it was hard to send him off, it's nothing comapred to the feeling of regret at missing out on the graduation. My son went off (Army) at a time when job constraints and money made it impossible for me to attend. In retrospect, I would have given anything to be there. If there is one thing I could go back in time and erase, it would be that.
*Believe me, I have lived a very colorful life.
Please heed the houndawg's advice. If you think it was hard to send him off, it's nothing comapred to the feeling of regret at missing out on the graduation. My son went off (Army) at a time when job constraints and money made it impossible for me to attend. In retrospect, I would have given anything to be there. If there is one thing I could go back in time and erase, it would be that.
*Believe me, I have lived a very colorful life.
A few tips for parents.
1. send mail as often as possible. Even if it doesn't say much it's appreciated. I got something just about everyday. The days you don't get mail are pretty sad.
2. care packages are big!!! Be sure to send enough for the whole platoon. Some DI's frown on small personal packages.
3. Make every effort to go to graduation. My dad drove 1200 miles with my pain in the a** girlfriend to see me march across the parade deck at Parris Island. He was in during Korea and I think he was more excited about my graduation.
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"Some people spend an entire liftime wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem."
Semper Fi
1. send mail as often as possible. Even if it doesn't say much it's appreciated. I got something just about everyday. The days you don't get mail are pretty sad.
2. care packages are big!!! Be sure to send enough for the whole platoon. Some DI's frown on small personal packages.
3. Make every effort to go to graduation. My dad drove 1200 miles with my pain in the a** girlfriend to see me march across the parade deck at Parris Island. He was in during Korea and I think he was more excited about my graduation.
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"Some people spend an entire liftime wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem."
Semper Fi
Jeff Thomas
New member
JHS, congratulations, and best wishes to you and your family!
Regards from AZ
Regards from AZ
Miss Demeanors
New member
JHS congrats! You should be real proud 
Best of luck to him.
Best of luck to him.Steve Smith
New member
I second what Danny O said...every word of it. My parent did the same thing with MY pain in the A$$ GF too...we broke up during tech school.
straightShot
New member
JHS:
Congrats.
I wonder if they let marines possess and fire "assault weapons" during basic in old CA...
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NRA Life Member
Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners(MCRGO)
Congrats.
I wonder if they let marines possess and fire "assault weapons" during basic in old CA...
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NRA Life Member
Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners(MCRGO)
You will never have any regrets and neither will your son. If more young men like your son deceided to join the armed forces this country would be in a whole lot better shape then it is in now. I feel bad for the young men that have no military training and go off and become police officers etc. These poor kids don't have a clue! They think all they have to do all day is ride around in their patrol cars and give tickets out, and direct traffic in their hometown.
You can tell the difference between the officers that have had military training and not. The one's without the training are just sitting ducks for anyone who hates authority. In the military your son will learn to be street wise and otherwise. He will not be naive to the streets and their surroundings, that is if he decides to join law enforcement when he gets discharged. His training will be with him until he dies, no one will ever take it from him. Semper Fi!
Ed From Pa
You can tell the difference between the officers that have had military training and not. The one's without the training are just sitting ducks for anyone who hates authority. In the military your son will learn to be street wise and otherwise. He will not be naive to the streets and their surroundings, that is if he decides to join law enforcement when he gets discharged. His training will be with him until he dies, no one will ever take it from him. Semper Fi!
Ed From Pa
JHS, When he graduates, he will be very different from the boy you sent off to San Diego. When you see him, he will be taller, standing erect with Military Bearing, white sidewalls, and sporting muscles neither he nor his parents ever thought he would have.
May God bless your son and give him the strength and fortitude to make it. Thank him for his service for me.
May God bless your son and give him the strength and fortitude to make it. Thank him for his service for me.
I don't know about anyone else, but I don't give out trust and respect in just a haphazard manner.
However, there are a few things that get my instant trust and respect: A military man, particularly a Marine, is one of them.
Congratulations and thank you all.
God bless America - she certainly needs it, and these people certainly deserve it.
However, there are a few things that get my instant trust and respect: A military man, particularly a Marine, is one of them.
Congratulations and thank you all.
God bless America - she certainly needs it, and these people certainly deserve it.
maxinquaye
New member
I remember when I got out of MCRD San Diego on June 29th, 1995. My parents did not make it, and I wish more then anything they could have.
Go for your son...he will have earned it.
I almost wish I could go through boot camp again - I have never been in that kind of shape in my life. Don't be surprised to see your son run through walls terminator style when he gets back
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"Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond."
-Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Go for your son...he will have earned it.
I almost wish I could go through boot camp again - I have never been in that kind of shape in my life. Don't be surprised to see your son run through walls terminator style when he gets back
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"Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond."
-Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
I thank all of you for your support. It has helped my wife and me. Yes, we are proud of him but he is still my kid,it's my job to worry.
I will print this out and send it to him. It's always nice to know that the people you will serve have good thoughts for you.
Thanks and stay safe.
John
I will print this out and send it to him. It's always nice to know that the people you will serve have good thoughts for you.
Thanks and stay safe.
John
Worry not!!! Your son will come back a man. He will refer to you as sir and to your wife as mam. His manners will be impeccable, he will be neat, he will be a new person, he will be a son to be proud of. Keep a kleenex close because you will need one when that man comes home because he will no longer be your little boy but a United States Marine. Enjoy and best wishes.