We are sorry we could not see what family meant to you once you returned. We did not understand what true camaraderie looked like. You lived in a world where you would die for your brother-in-arms, you watched each other’s sixes, your life depended on the actions of one another, you were part of a unit that lived and thrived with one another. We did not understand.
We are sorry we could not see the isolation you must have felt when you returned to our world; A world where we get to complain about the most insignificant inconveniences of our lives and have no understanding of what it cost YOU for US to have those privileges.
We are sorry that we did not have knowledge to empathize with the trauma you faced every day that you were deployed.
We are sorry we did not understand that when we startled you, you were reaching for your sidepiece, slightly panicking that it was not there, and slowly realizing you were no longer in Iraq, but back here with us.
We are sorry we did not know the horrifying images that haunted you from your past. We could not see the bloodshed you confronted; we could not see the damage our wars have done to our fellow family members.
We are sorry that as a nation we turned a blind eye to this pain, weight and internal war you carried every day with you. We should have done more, for you, for the other 22 a day that have succumbed to this disease.
Although we are sorry, we know that you would not have wanted it any other way. You are a United States Marine through and through. For that I am thankful–thankful for your service, not only to our country but also to those in your community.
“For many years, he stood the watch, so that our countrymen and we could sleep soundly, in safety, knowing that a (he) would stand the watch. Today we are here to say the watch stands relieved; relieved by those he has led, guided and trained… you sir stand relieved. We have the watch.”
Once a Marine, Always a Marine.
