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February 19, 2005
Family Ties
I started grading assignments at 8:00 this morning and finished at 9:00 tonight. My only break was a 2 hour phone conference this afternoon with two students who needed me to walk them - again - through the intricacies of how to set up and test research hypotheses. I love teaching but the neverending pile of ungraded papers caught up with me today and I'm tired. Usually, I'd perk right up with a bag of M&Ms but not tonight - first day of induction on Atkins and I'm going through sugar withdrawal. I've been working on a 60th anniversary of Iwo Jima post and didn't get it done for today. Reading about what the Marines on that beach went through is awe-inspiring. And it hits close to home, bringing a realization of just how petty my minor gripes are.
One of the highlights of our family life was twin uncles (by marriage but once I met them, I claimed them as blood relatives), Mack and Mike Hensley. They were inseparable - never married, lived all their lives as Oregon bachelor uncles. They graduated from high school together, joined the Marines on the same day, graduated from boot camp (the first graduating class at MCRD-SD), and went off to war together. They fought together during WWII, sharing a fighting hole at Guam. Mike was injured and sent home to recuperate, Mack stayed.
After WWII, the brothers went to work for an Oregon lumber company on the same day and retired on the same day many years later. When I had my son on January 14, 1984, they were his first visitors when he was just a few hours old, bringing a box of Whitman's Chocolates and charming the nurses. Every few months, they'd take us out to dinner, flirting with me and bantering with Shane. They loved him and were so proud when he left for boot camp.
When Mack died a couple of years ago, I learned at his funeral that he went on from Guam to Iwo Jima where he took part in that epic battle. One of my deep regrets is that I didn't ask more questions while he was still living. Mike lived a few more months but his twin was gone and part of his spirit died that day. I knew them for 20 years but it wasn't enough. They were good men, but that is common to the Corps. I've been thinking of them both today and hoping their memory will never be forgotten. I know that Mack and Mike went to war to protect their loved ones at home. 60 years later, a new generation of young Marines is doing the same thing.
Semper Fidelis. It's a way of life. Thank you, to all our former and present Marines who have sacrificed their own comfort and security so that we can enjoy life without putting overmuch thought into those sacrifices. It's not a small thing. I've worked 13 hours today; they fought from the same hole in the ground for weeks, knowing that the slightest mistake could mean death. I miss my carbs, they ate K rations for months. No comparison. Absolutely no comparison.
Posted by Deb at February 19, 2005 11:30 PM
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