Last Saturday,

I was driving in my community when I spied a church marquee that advertised

the observance of Veteran's Day on the following Sunday. In front of the

church property, a collection of flags was prominently on display.

The display

featured a couple of American flags, and the flags of the military services

the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Air

Force, and ... what!?

Unable to quite

believe my eyes, I turned the car around, drove past the church again

and, sure enough, there was a flag missing. Perhaps, because it was Nov.

10, I noticed the missing flag. In fact, several times on Saturday, people

wished me, "Happy Birthday." No, it wasn't my own personal birthday,

which I share with Martin Luther King, Jr. (Jan. 15). It was the 226th

birthday of the finest, fiercest, most intimidating military unit on the

planet, The United States Marine Corps.

November 10

is celebrated by all Marines as a special birthday. How in the world could

you have a display of flags of the American military services and not

have a Marine flag? Marines, even those who have been out of the service

for a long time, are touchy about such things.

For the historically

challenged, The Marine Corps (and by the way, people who spell it "Corp"

need to go to remedial spelling class) was founded, appropriately enough,

at Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 10, 1775. The USMC is actually

older than the USA itself and, although it is the smallest of the four

major military services (no offense intended to the Coast Guard or the

Merchant Marines) it has a history of combat, honor, and valor unequaled

anywhere.

When the firefighters

raised a flag at the World Trade Center, people compared it to the flag

raising at Iwo Jima. Marines did that. When the president picks personal

guards, the guys who salute him as he leaves the helicopter are Marines.

Who guards U. S. embassies? You guessed it. Marines. Germans in World

War I called the Marines "Devil Dogs" because of their fighting

spirit. Who do they send in first to do a tough job when the mission is

not covert? Who else?

In fact, the

Marines bill themselves as "America's 911 Force." At any given

moment, Marines are on a ship in some ocean waiting for the word from

the Commander-in-Chief. The Marines can hit the beach in a matter of hours

and 226 years of history and tradition makes them a force to be feared.

One just can't

be a Marine. One has to earn the privilege of calling himself or herself

South Carolina or at San Diego, California. Officers have to earn the

right to be called Marines at Quantico, Virginia. In the other services,

lawyers can just join up and be given a commission. You wanna be a Marine

lawyer? You go through OCS and The Basic School where, if you earn the

right to be called a combat-trained Marine, then you can be a Marine lawyer.

Even the Commandant of the Marine Corps, a four-star general, is content

to just be called "Marine."

Some people

believe that Marines are arrogant. It's not so much that as it is the

fact that the people who have earned the title carry it proudly with them

until their dying day. They know what it takes to be a Marine and they

respect anyone, including themselves, who has made the grade.

An Army veteran

asked me once, "Isn't it time you outgrew this Marine thing?"

Doesn't he read the ads? "The change is forever." On my car

is a bumper sticker that reads, "Not so lean. Not so mean. But still

a Marine." That about says it all.

Marines pride

themselves as people who rush into danger in the service of their country

and in the fraternity of their brothers. They see themselves as tough

people in a tough world. Interestingly, an inordinate number of CEOs in

Fortune 500 companies are former Marines (no such thing as an "ex-Marine").

Most former

Marines (admittedly all services, including the Marines, have a few bad

apples) have a sense of honor, of duty, and sacrifice. Even in civilian

life, the training and socialization men and women received in the Corps

translates into their civilian life and changes people forever.

Having been

a part of this elite fraternity impacts and guides former Marines like

Sgt. Michael Curtin, Sgt. John Coughlin, PO Vincent Danz, all of the New

York Police Department. It drives men like PO Paul Jurgens and PO James

Parham of the Port Authority Police.

It inspires

men like Special Agent Leonard Hatton of the FBI. And then there are former

Marines like Chief Raymond Downey, Chief Joseph Grezlak, Capt. Patrick

Brown, Lt. Michael Esposito, FF Calixto Anaya, FF Ruben Correa, FF John

Chipuram, FF Matthew Garvey, FF Gary Geidel, FF Ronnie Henderson, FF William

Krukowski, FF Manual Mojica; FF Christian Regenhard, FF Gregory Sikorsky,

FF Kevin Smith, FF Sean Tallon and FF Allan Tarasiewicz. All former Marines

with the New York Fire Department.

All former

Marines who shared a common bond and a common set of values who all perished

together running into danger in the attack on the World Trade Center Sept.

11, dying in a different kind of war, trying to save lives and perform

their duty. To the very end, they were "always faithful."

So, by all

means, display all the flags proudly and honor all of America's veterans.

But, please, don't fail to remember and display the blood-red flag of

those who have given so much in war and in peace "the few, the proud,

the Marines."

[Father David

Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church in Peachtree

City. He may be contacted at [email protected] or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com .]