Its hard to believe that 13 years ago I was on my knees in front of the TV in complete shock & disgust watching the World Trade Center crumble before my eyes. Sometimes I close my eyes and the images are as vivid as if it were yesterday. I remember weeping in utter disbelief. I remember the sorrow, the rage, the desperation, and the hole in my chest that left me grasping for understanding. I cried as I watched President Bush stand upon the rubble and say: I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon! That moment an unquenchable thirst for justice changed my life and set in motion events that would shape my life in ways I could never have imagined. All the days from that day to this have been in the blink of an eye, but so much has happened in that single blink. Ive known good days and bad. And from that act of cowardice Ive seen extraordinary things, Ive witnessed boys become men as they raised a hand and pledged to defend this great nation of ours from its enemies! When I was 18 years old I sat at my parents dining-room table talking to a recruiter, and it shames me to think that it took such a horrific event to finally raise my hand when I was 23. Instead I partied my ass off in Europe. Its hard to have regrets in hind site because you never know where life would have lead you otherwise. I dont regret the friends I made and I dont regret seeing the land of my grandfather. I remember when my bus stopped in Scotland I made sure my lips were the first thing that touched Scottish soil! It is the heritage of that grandfather whos relentless desire of freedom flows through my veins. A heritage whos idealism of the 14th-century Declaration of Arbroath was finally realized in our Declaration of Independence. ...for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we be subject to tyrannical dominion. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself. Its hard to believe that 8 years ago I stood alongside the brothers that I would fight beside in Ramadi Iraq, staring in disbelief into the gaping hole in the ground where those Trade Towers once stood, witnessing the scale of that destruction first hand I was once again overcome with raw emotion as I glanced over the seemingly endless scribbled notes from the children and loved ones of those lost that infamous day, just trying to make sense of it all, to understand why theyd never again be in their ams! It still feels like it was yesterday that I proudly shook the hand of my Commander in Chief as he took the time to thank us for answering the call to duty, and personally sending us off to Iraq. And its hard to believe that in an ironic twist of fate on September 11th 2006 I stepped foot off of a C-130 into a surreal world of utter chaos that even the best of Hollywood fails to accurately portray! A world with no resets, where the blood is real and death has a silent finality. A macabre portrait of the evil acts that man is capable of inflicting on fellow man. But also the selfless acts of Americas youth deliberately placing their very lives in harms way, unhesitatingly paying the ultimate sacrifice for the love of Country & Corps, the love of his brother on his left and right, and for the 240 year old ideal that man was endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And that these rights arent limited by borders or language but extend over 6,000 miles away to a place called Iraq. The blink of an eye... I cant imagine myself today without the Marine Corps, its as much a part of me as the blood of my grandfather that passes through me with every beat of my heart. It took me a few years longer than it should have to find my calling but once that Eagle Globe & Anchor was pinned on my collar I realized its where I belonged all along! My Dad always said I was born a Marine, and then I went to boot camp and was made one. Despite the physical pain and mental torment Ive experienced in my days since, knowing the outcome Id do it all again, even if I knew Id never made it back! I have many regrets in my short existence but putting on that uniform was never one of them! Serving & fighting alongside my brothers for the Country I love was the greatest pleasure of my life, and something Ill cherish beyond my last breath! I will never forget 9/11/2001 & I will never forget the brothers that gave their lives because of the Red, White, & Blue and what she represents! Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) To God, Country, & Corps! Nate Miller (Sgt, USMC Retired)
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 12:34:53 +0000
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