My wife and I were eating breakfast at Denny’s a few Sundays ago. The only seats available faced away from the door. Anyone who knows me knows that, having been a Marine, I don’t do well facing away from a potential threat.
Before I continue, a little background:
3x Rifle Marksman Badge, Good Conduct Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and a DD-214 with “0311” on it… that’s right, Infantry.
I served from 1978 to 1982 during the Cold War. Almost daily we were told to stand by for orders because things were so tense. The call never came… because the Russians aren’t fools.
So we’re sitting there eating when I hear the entrance door open slowly, right as a waitress drops a tray of glasses. Without hesitating, I jump up, yell “FIRE IN THE HOLE,” and press the fork I was holding against the throat of a young man walking in.
He freezes.
We lock eyes.
I see fear. He sees ice and death.
I stand down, scan the restaurant, then calmly inform everyone that I am, and always will be, a United States Marine.
People applauded. Someone even paid for our breakfast.
Moral of the story:
If you see a truck plastered with USMC gear… tread lightly. One careless move could cost you your life.
People who serve with integrity and compassion are the ultimate human being. My family and I have the utmost respect for them. My father and grandfathers served in Europe. Tiny side note: I would love to witness the burning in of the fact that any soldier has the legal right to refuse any order which at its very foundation is a human rights violation or which leads to a war crime. We'd have less strife if that aforementionned right was respected.
