I'm writing this while sitting in a big bar straight out of Heartbreak Ridge, on a U.S. military base in one of the 'stans that seems still to still be nursing a post-Soviet hangover. Somehow, surrounded by members of all the US military services as well as some foreign troops (most notably, Poles), "Should Have Been A Cowboy" and even "All My Exes Live in Texas" put me in a distinctly and comfortingly American mood.
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We left San Diego many hours ago - I have no idea how many and with all the time zone changes I'm not really sure how many days have passed. About two, I think, since then it was Monday there and now it's Wednesday here. We flew overnight and arrived in Bangor, ME, where no matter the time of day or night there are always volunteers to greet troops - outbound or inbound. We knew they'd be there, and we weren't looking forward to that awkward moment when someone says "thanks for your service" and you say...you're welcome? No problem? If you knew what I do in the Marine Corps, you'd find someone more worthy to thank?
That last sentiment is one felt by pretty much every Marine I know, no matter their job, and it's one that, I think, causes many of us to avoid as much as possible those conversations with civilians. This time, I'm glad we didn't. It felt good to know that someone got up early in the morning just to be there to shake my hand.
Then we stepped off U.S soil for the last time for a while, and landed a few hours later in Shannon, Ireland. Join the Marine Corps, I heard someone say, and see the world...'s airport terminals. I had the best Smithwick's I've ever had, and flirted with a cute Irish blonde who thought I was "21 or maybe 22." Paid in Euros.
Then back on the plane, a DC-10 (pics to follow in a later post) crammed full of Marines including my once and future unit, MASS-3 (nice to be flying with friends). Seven hours later a day had passed, and we landed, again in the local morning, at our current location, which out of an overabundance of caution I'm not specifying online.
So in all, a long flight to nowhere, interesting only because I've got nothing better to do right now than make it so. Hope you enjoyed my first deployment ranting - many more to follow.
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1 comment:
Well David, one of the people who would have been shaking hands with you at the Bangor airport is Roger Begin, a former Marine with whom I toured Israel three years ago. He's retired now and one of his passions is greeting guys like you.
I remember having breakfast with him in a Vatican-owned hotel just outside the New Gate in Jerusalem. I asked the dozen or so people seated there if they'd been woken up by what I believed were gunshots. Roger said he had, and affirmed that yes, they were definitely gunshots - something with which he'd had much experience in the Corps. We shook hands and hung out together for the rest of the trip.
Now, at the risk of making you feel awkward, I'd like to thank you for your service to our country and, indeed, for placing yourself in harm's way so that western civilization itself might be preserved.
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