The Few, the Proud, the Marine Families

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

On Monday, Jan. 25. My brother and his wife said goodbye to my nephew. You see, he shipped out to Marine Corp Training on Monday, leaving all of us with no way to contact him or hear from him for at least two weeks. I am extremely proud of my nephew. He turned 18 last July, and although we had hoped he would choose another branch, we all knew he would join somewhere. My brother even signed the paperwork so he could sign early. He had worked through difficulties early in his schooling to graduate a semester early. My mom joked with him because his senior ring and letter jacket both said “Class of 2016,” but he actually graduated in December of 2015, at the end of the fall semester! Now, he is in California, training to do something he has looked forward to for a long time. I have several friends who have had family members join the armed services. I have had students whom I had coached joined the service, as well as a cousin who was in the Marines, and I couldn’t be prouder of any of them. My brother actually joined the National Guard after he finished high school, and I remember the recruiter coming to the house. But, this is different to me. To be this close to someone who has literally signed up to protect the freedoms that this country enjoys, is humbling. Now, I understand that I am older, and I understand more than when my brother was in the Guard, but I also know that the times are different now, as well. My nephew, and thousands of other men and women, have signed their name and taken an oath to protect our country. If that is not enough to make you proud, then please, check your pulse. For all the thousands of men and women in uniform, there are at least double that many family members who wait patiently for that first two weeks of training to end so they can hear from their loved one again. There are families who may not even know where exactly in the world their loved one is, because it’s “classified.” What is not classified is the love these families have for their soldier. Corpsman, Marine, or seaman. These families line the airports on a daily basis, sending off loved ones, or welcoming them home for leave. They spend countless hours praying for their loved ones safety, and share birthday or holiday wishes through Facetime, Skype, or some other video messaging system, longing to simply through their arms around them one more time. For many families, their waiting has been turned to heartbreak, as they receive the phone call or visit that no military family wants to receive. All hold that possibility in the back of their minds, I’m sure, but no one dreams that it will be them. But, when a loved one signs on that dotted line, it is an automatic worry that goes along with the territory. Like I said, I could not be more proud of my nephew, Jackson, than I am now. I also will go on to add this: had it not been for the way my brother and sister-in-law raised him, we would not be having this conversation. In other words, I am just a proud of them for the man they raised as I am of him. They say it takes a special person to join the military, especially the Marines. From my perspective, it takes special people be the family of a Marine, as well. So, from now on, I will proudly wear the title of “United States Marine Aunt.”