My brother was a reserve Marine back in the 60's. He's that ole chemical plant worker from Houston with every Marine as a brother! I guess I had a real affinity for the Marine Corps from him. We tease him often about the "hymn" playing behind his every word!!
Appropriately, I married a Marine who has served two tours in Vietnam and served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as his last tour. He served aboard the Iwo Jima which had some well-documented mechanical problems, mostly in the boiler room. It was carrying a very large cargo of ordinance which most weren't aware of until the boiler blew.
As you are well aware, there is a Navy/Marine Corps rivalry documented in numerous stories along the years. My Marine husband gave up all those stories on the occasion of the explosion that killed several Navy guys as they tried to shut down the boilers to minimize the extent of injuries to the rest of the crew. I'm sure those guys didn't plan on dying, but they certainly knew the risks they were taking. Had that ordinance gone.....
Our family owes those "swabbies" much. Whatever ship they're sailing now, we salute you!!!
Semper Fi!
