A Day of Pride and Sorrow

The air was brisk and there was a strong breeze blowing in from Farnell Bay. Duffels, backpacks and weapons were stacked on the ground with red tape wrapped around them to indicate to whom they were issued. Under one tree a young Marine sat holding his infant boy, his wife next to him. In the grass under the sun sat another Marine with his grandmother, grandfather and girlfriend. A small group of Marines stood together laughing and imitating one another. The entire area was populated with families spending precious moments together.

The morning at Camp Lejeune, NC started with a trip to the barracks to gather my son’s personal effects to bring back to Flintstone. Our group consisted of my wife, my cousin Bobby, my son’s fiancée Jessica and me. In the parking lot we met a Sergeant who had returned from Iraq slightly more than a month ago. We were admiring his new red Corvette as he struck up a conversation with my son, Lance Corporal Deric North. They talked about the situation where my son’s company was to be deployed. He told Deric that attacks against U.S. service personnel in that area were down to two a week, from a high of 400 a week during the initial push.

Before we left for the staging area, the Sgt. surprised Deric by tossing him the keys to his ‘Vette and letting him take Jessica for a spin around the base. From there it was over to the armory to have weapons issued. The Marines laughed and joked as they compared M-16s and M-4s. Some had grenade launchers, some did not. A few Marines, my son among them, were issued SAWs, or “Squad Automatic Weapons.” The SAWs are drum-fed fully automatic weapons with a folding bipod. As my son posed for a photo while holding his SAW, a few of the other Marines jokingly called him “Rambo.”

After weapons were issued everyone moved to the area where the buses would pick up our sons and daughters. One at a time I had the privilege of meeting my son’s comrades, the Marines who would be leaving with him for Iraq in a few short hours. Oliver, Weeg, Bruski, Bliss, Neukum. Diverse names from different places, young men with one thing in common -- absolute commitment to one another. We met Gunnery Sergeant King, the man who would lead our Marines during their seven months overseas. This is GySgt King’s fourth deployment. As we talked with him, he told us what to expect upon Deric’s return – a young man more mature and solemn. It was encouraging to know our son would be under the command of someone with on-the-ground experience in Iraq.

As we waited we dialed family and friends and let Deric take a moment to say goodbye to each. Especially touching was hearing Deric tell his grandfather, Lewis Fincher, a Korean War veteran, that he had the Purple Heart ribbon Lewis had given him in his shirt pocket and would keep it there the entire length of his deployment.

As time for the buses to arrive drew near, Deric walked Jessica to a bank overlooking the bay. They sat together, he gave her a ring and they held one another and cried. All around us husbands and wives kissed and talked quietly, children held on to daddy’s leg and entire families huddled together in quiet sadness, prayer, or both. As tears began to flow some of the women who were veterans of these deployments walked around and offered tissues and words of encouragement to the women who were about to see the men they love leave for a place on the other side of the globe.

Deric pulled us close to him. He cried and promised to keep us abreast of events. I told him how proud I was of him. The sense of pride, sorrow and hope was overwhelming.

As the MP Company of the 3d Battalion, 10th Marines boarded their buses, we watched them take their seats. While my son looked out of the window and waved to us, the young man in the seat behind him reached forward and placed a hand on my son’s shoulder.

I am proud to call my son a United States Marine. I am proud of his fellow Marines and admire the love and sense of commitment they have for one another.

Take care of business. Come home. We miss you already.