AMERICA’S MARINES IN RI (Ep 105) 6:08

Retired Marine 1:
Back in 1957 when I was there, during infantry training one day they said everyone six foot and six foot one fall out, and there were hundreds of guys on the parade field and after two days of drill they got us down to our platoon. It’s kind of exciting, you just joined the Marine Corps, you come out of boot camp and you end up getting the title of Marine. We trained up at Camp David, that’s the Marine Barracks in Washington D.C. There were four platoons. We spent two weeks at Camp David and six weeks back at 8th and I but during your two weeks at Camp David, you practice the drill and learn the drill.

Retired Marine 2:
They represent the best of the best as far as our military is concerned. That is exactly why our son joined the Marines.

Mother 1:
My son is Corporal Michael Nachin. He’s stationed in Okinawa.

Mother 2:
One of the reasons Mark decided to join, he said, it help him with his future and it would help him with his focus in school. I thought it all sounded very interesting but really my focus still was for him just to continue on in college and finish school. And he said, “Mom, didn’t you always bring us up to be independent when we grew up and make good decisions on our own?” And I said, “Yes” and he said, “Well this is a decision I wanted to make.” I’ve always been incredibly proud of him and I told him he didn’t need to join the Marines to make me proud.

Mother 1:
He decided to enlist and at first I was really nervous.

Mother 2:
But it’s quite amazing to watch the difference from when he left to go to boot camp to picking him up at Pass Island and looking at a tall proud young man.

Mother 1:
By the time he came out the transformation was just awesome.

Retired Marine 2:
He went from a boy to a man in his actions, his strength, the way he talked to people, the way he answered people, the respect he had for people.

Mother 1:
The Marines did for him in three months what I tried for twenty-one years to accomplish.

Mother 3:
It transforms them.

Retired Marine 2:
It’s a transformation, that’s right.

Mother 3:
It really is.

Retired Marine 3:
I graduated from high school at seventeen and I needed a challenge and everyone kept telling me I was too young to be a military police officer. And the Marine Corps Recruiter kept telling me when you graduate honor man you can become a military police officer. So he was putting the challenge out to me and I wanted to take the challenge. I did graduate honor man and the Marine Corps had taught me how to be a man, stand on my own two feet and not worry about the little things in life, there was more out there.

Retired Marine 1:
I had gone a year to college and left college and was wondering a little bit about the Marine Corps. And by the time I got out of the Marine Corps, I was a different guy. The Marine Corps teaches you confidence, self respect, the respect of others. You just learn how to handle yourself with people and in the world.

Retired Marine 3:
Seeing the rest of the world through young eyes was just amazing because now I was 28—29, I was away from home on the other side of the world and you’re experiencing it with brother Marines and it was just incredible. The different sights we saw, what we’d read about in high school we were now experiencing it and living it for ourselves.

Retired Marine 4:
We as Marines have an extraordinary amount of camaraderie. That’s probably the best decision I’ve made in my life. I’ve always been proud to be a Marine.

Mother 3:
You can’t imagine the pride.

Retired Marine 2:
It’s overwhelming.

Mother 1:
I just want to shout out to Mike: I love you and I’m very proud of every Marine who serves this country.

Mother 3:
Thank you for watching over all of us each and every day, for sacrificing their time when they could be doing so many other things.

Mother 2:
We really really appreciate what they’re doing for us, to be able to get up every day and go on and do what we do, without thinking twice about it, all the freedoms we have.

Retired Marine 2:
That’s what it’s all about; freedom of choice, freedom of thinking, freedom of speech.

Retired Marine 3:
They’re it. They’re the Marine Corps. That’s our best foot forward. They are the best representatives that we have.

Retired Marine 1:
They’re doing something noble. They’re some fine guys. You can just see the character they have there and if our country’s in the hands of these kind of people, we’re going to be in good shape.