Today, August 17, 2013 marks a personal milestone of sorts for me, which is why I changed my profile picture for the day. I’ve talked about it before, so please excuse me for repeating myself, but it’s kind of a big deal to me. I can’t tell you why, it just is! Forty years ago today, I woke up from a good, sound sleep, showered, shaved and prepared to dress for the day. I carefully selected a pair of neatly-pressed uniform trousers, and a shirt that had just come straight from the base cleaners. The creases in the shirt were as sharp as knives, and I inspected it carefully to make sure that those creases were exactly where they should be. There were to be two creases in the front, one running exactly though the middle of each pocket flap (one on each side), and two corresponding creases in the back. On the sleeves, there was to be one crease on each, which would run exactly through the middle of the rank insignia, in this case three chevrons (stripes) over a pair of crossed rifles, which identified me as a sergeant. I declared myself satisfied and proceeded to dress. I made sure that my shoes were polished to a mirror-like gloss and that my brass belt buckle was shined until it gleamed. Ribbons and a sharpshooter’s badge were painstakingly centered over the left pocket. As I stepped outside, my garrison cover (hat to civilians) was placed perfectly on my head at an ever-so-slight angle (after four years, I was long past the “boot camp” days, and as an “old timer”, and an NCO, could get away with that rakish look, which I thought added a little panache!). The Eagle, Globe and Anchor insignia on my cover that I had worked so hard to earn four years ago, had been given a fresh coat of “em-new”, which is a kind of dye used to touch up any chips. Finally, satisfied that all was as it should be, appearance-wise, I climbed into a car with some other Marine friends (we all lived off-base and car-pooled in those days), and, as always, we drove off into the Washington, D.C. area morning rush hour. I’d always tried to look professional in my uniform, but today, I’d taken a little extra time to make sure I was as sharp and squared away as possible. After all, it isn’t every day that I have an appointment to visit the Commanding Officer of Alpha Company, H & S Battalion, Henderson Hall, Headquarters, USMC in Arlington, Virginia. As we crept down I-95, traffic hellish, as usual, I thought about the oh-so-familiar ritual of getting dressed for duty that I had just completed, and then was struck by the fact that I would never do it again. Today was my last day of active service in the Marine Corps. I had finished my tour of active duty, and was making my last stop before officially becoming a civilian sometime later that day. I was going home. I was dropped off at the main gate, and the rest of my companions chugged off to their own duty stations, some in the Naval Annex across the street, and one at the Pentagon. They had all promised to meet me later for the obligatory get-together at Linc’s Tavern, a not-to-be-missed ritual (bordering on sacred) for anyone “getting out”. The gate guard waved me through, and I made my way to Alpha Company HQ to check out with the company clerk, and then to be officially relieved of duty by the Commanding Officer. Everything was kind of a blur right up to the moment that the CO handed me back the “separation from active duty” papers that he’d just signed, stood, shook my hand, and made this formal announcement: “On behalf of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the President of the United States, and myself, thank you for your honorable service. The very best of luck to you in your future endeavors. Dismissed, Marine!”. And just like that, it was over. I walked out of the Company Office without even being aware of it, and headed back to the main gate. There, I would step off-base as a civilian, and into the next phase of my life. I was elated and excited, and felt a great sense of accomplishment in having completed something meaningful in my life. The gate guard, recognizing the separation package under my arm, wished me luck and waved me back through the gate. Without hesitation and without looking back, I strode through the gate, made a sharp right turn and headed for Linc’s Tavern, a couple of blocks away. I would like to tell you that there were no regrets of any kind, only joy, but that isn’t true. While I was anxious to “kick back” a little, maybe let my hair grow out a bit, sleep in when I felt like it and just generally enjoy civilian life, I also knew that I was leaving behind a ton of good friends and good memories. I would re-connect with some of those friends much, much later, but most of them, sadly, I never saw again after that day. The good memories? Still got ‘em. Was that a tear in my eye? Nah… well, maybe… I’ll never tell… Well, here I am at Linc’s. I see several of my Marine brethren at the bar who’d managed to arrange for a “long lunch” in order to help me celebrate, and I do believe that’s my old buddy Mike heading over here with a cold one for me. Life is good! So long, Marine Corps and thank you for everything… I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 23:00:11 +0000