My grandson, Isaac Epps, is a United States Marine Corps recruit finishing up his third week of boot camp at infamous Parris Island, S.C. It was 47 years ago this month that I arrived at Parris Island. It was, at the same time, the best and the worst experience of my young life.
In a letter that I wrote to Ike, I said, “By now you have learned how unprepared you were for this place.” And it is true. Ike spent several years in Marine Corps JROTC at East Coweta High School and he checked out the Corps with recruiters, people he knew, and, of course, me. Nothing can prepare one for the experience that is Marine Corps boot camp.
Regardless of what anyone says, the Marines are the most rigorous, the most difficult, and, arguably, the most challenging of most any armed forces in the world. There is a tradition to uphold and there is a history to respect.
When you hear a Marine veteran says, “There’s no such thing as an ex-Marine,” he (or she) means it. In fact, the further one gets from one’s Marine Corps experience, the more one values what he or she has accomplished. I had a friend, an Army veteran (an ex-soldier) ask me, “When are you going to outgrow this ‘Marine thing?’” My response was, “Never.”
It’s not easy to earn the title and, at this point, there’s no guarantee that Ike will make the cut. I sincerely believe he will. I hope he does. But, really, barring a serious illness or a debilitating accident, it is all up to him. It’s how bad he wants it and how much suffering he is willing to endure to become a Leatherneck.
When I was in boot camp, there were three surprises: (1) I was surprised that some who I thought would make it, didn’t. (2) The second surprise was that some people that I thought wouldn’t make it, did. (3) The third surprise was that I, myself, made it through. My dad didn’t think I would. It was one of the rare times that he was wrong.
If he does meet the challenge, Isaac will be changed forever. I have accomplished quite a bit in my life. But, to this day, if someone asks what is the thing of which I am most proud, my answer is, “Boot camp graduation from Parris Island.” I put myself through college, through graduate school, earned black belts in karate, and much, much more. But my day of graduation, of becoming a United States Marine, is a day that I will never forget.
So, even though I worry for his ultimate safety, since we live in a very dangerous and hostile world, I pray every day for Ike’s success. I know what it means to him because I know what it meant to me.
He wants to be part of something larger than himself, he wishes to challenge himself, and he desires to serve his country. But, since he was a little boy, most of all, he has wanted to be a United States Marine. Now he has the opportunity. He has at least grueling 10 weeks to go. May God be with him and may God give him the will and the strength to achieve his dream.
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org.]
