E-mail:
“Dear Rich, My son was in college in 2001 when he came home in November and told me first so I could break it to his mother that he had joined the marines. Now virtually every male on both sides of my family has served their country, usually in the Navy which is where I served in the mid 70’s. Having a son come home and say he joined the marines, especially after 9-11 was to put it mildly a shock. We were Navy men not marines, and by the way son do you have any idea how hard their boot camp really is? After going to his graduation, in San Diego not Parris Island, I can not even begin to tell you how proud of that young man I really am. Even writing this letter I well up in tears of pride. I can not read an article or hear of one of them dying with out breaking out in another bout of tears of pride.”