On one long day at school it has been a very long day. It’s graduation time and lots of plans for the future. But my main goal is, is what I want to achieve first is something not many people can do or some people never make it back. I want to do this to see what my body and my mind is really capable of doing. I want to join the Marines and become a war fighting machine my plan is to go for sometime and come home and make it back to my son and wife. Tomorrow is graduation and I have to make a decision to leave or not, and not see my family, wife and son for a year. It’s been a very exhausted day so when I get home from school I go to sleep. I was there talking to my grandpa about the decision I have to make for my future. He told me “The military is not a place to play games, you go there to do your job for your country and do it right”. My grandpa was in the U.S. Army when he was 22. He already knows that the military is much more dangerous and deadly, but he still encourages me to go and fight to make myself a better man while fighting for this country just as he did also. I thanked him for talk and help from. He blurred away as he told me to tell the family “hi, and that i'm watching them from above”.

I woke up instantly sweating and hot. I was late for school I got clothes on and left for school. I get to school, I’ve made my final decision and my family doesn’t have any idea nor does my own wife. I make it through the school day nervously and make it to graduation. I was one of the class cabinet members giving a speech to the entire school. As I was speaking I heard the brakes on a bus and I look over and I see the bus they have brought to pick me up in. I resumed back to my speech and after I was finished I walked off slowly. I went to sit down my lady went up and spoke. It was hard because she only talked about moving on and getting a house after school and live a long happily life with no worries. I couldn’t bare to listen to what she was saying it was so upsetting. Her speech ended and then we all stood up and threw our hats up in the hair. We were taking pictures with the family. As i was taking a picture with my wife I saw two men walking up in the corner of my eye. My mom asked who he was looking for, he said that young gentlemen right there. An she started crying and was terrified and didn’t want me to go my wife now noticed and my mom had told her why he was there. She started crying begging for me to stay and I said no I can’t I am starting my career i’ll be home soon. I said to the other guy I am coming, Mom asked who I was talking to and before I told her my grandpa I told them all that I love them and that I have to go. I gave my son a big hug and kiss. He was to young to know what was going on. Although I am sure that when he was old enough he will understand as to why I am leaving and what I am doing it for.

I got onto the bus and I was very nervous. As we were driving off I noticed them crying and waving. My grandpa had said to me that everything will be okay and then disappeared away. The marine who was really there said to me “everything will be okay son.”. We arrive to the airport and there is plane outside waiting for us along with multiple other guy also standing along waiting to aboard. The sergeant and I get off the bus and I walk to the other men. Then we all aboard the plane, we are all seated alphabetical order. One man ask another,” Hey man, what are you here for”. Before he could answer he was interrupted by another another man “ what do you think? We are all here for the same reason.” 8 hours go by and everyone sleeping. I am still up just waiting for us to land and nothing for another 3 hours so I finally go to sleep. Then about one more hour later we arrive and I am still very tired. We are escorted to a big field there are many more man there just like the rest of us. We were all wondering why there were many of us there.

We go on a long five mile hike to our base where we will be staying. Our first day of training we ran, hiked and, swam. A month goes by, now we are using guns and learning how to use them. Two months later we are practicing routines going in houses. Something didn’t seem right. Three months go by and we all have graduated and earned the title marine. We are sent back home to see our families before we go off to war. This war is not just any war and not many people knew that. I get home and surprise my family. They were all very happy and we all had a great time talking about what I’ve done so far. My mom pulls me off to the side to talk to me. “Son promise me you’ll make it home to me when it’s time.” She asked me where I am going, I knew what to say but I couldn’t. It was the place she said that attacks were at, and I just didn’t want to worry about me. A week goes by, and now they are saying goodbye for a longer time expecting their man to come to back home to them. I get back to the plane and fly back, but this time we get on an even bigger airplane and we fly across the world to a terrible place called “Iraq”. We land on a base and get geared up me and my crew are the first ones to leave. I was so scared and shaking I noticed something in the corner of my eye. It was my grandpa, he said “ Boy it’s war, you're not going to like this I did it and did it for my country now it’s your turn to fight for it son.”

The back door is open from the helicopter we rappel down to grown as we were waiting on one more man we hear and rpg fire off and see our helicopter hit then here gunshots north of us and they are constantly firing. We move to cover, and then return fire back. We eventually get them to retreat back. Then we make our way our way to the village. The village we spot from almost a mile away from a mountain top. We notice a lot of men but we can’t order a strike due to multiple civilians in the area. So we move in closer to the village unnoticeable. We sit clear and wait for the people to leave and or go in to bed. All of our guns are suppressed and plan to make this a quick silent mission.The terrorist we are looking is the man who sent multiple men to Paris for the shooting at a soccer game. Four hours past and now we have a lot of time and it’s early in the morning so they will not be expecting it. We move in we move in the first door very quietly, all of our guns are suppressed and plan to make this a quick silent mission. The first building is clear we can hear all the kids outside playing and running around hoping one of them not to come in. We move to the next building over as we exit the first one my grandpa was standing there with a weird confident look on his face. We can hear a lot of men inside so and now I know what he meant with the look on his face. To be careful and that he knows that I can do this.

We move up to the roof to drop in from the top. I notice three men and my corporal notices four on his side. Before we open fire I ask him “Hey, are you ready.. Once we do this there is no turning back until this fight is over”. “Yeah man, let’s raise hell on them for what they did to us and our people”. My man and I, and corporal and his man both opened suppressed fire on the money it was successful no one else had heard what just happened but we have to move fast or else someone will then find these men we just killed and then come look for us. The next room has civilians and about three men armed inside. We are spotted by a little boy playing soccer. He takes off running to someone yelling for help. We now know it’s move or die. So we move into the room faster take the two man out instantly but my man is hit in the leg we try to help him but he denies help being given to him so we all move outside and start to clear out the valley. We notice they have three trucks pulling in full of armed men. We hurry up and took cover inside as we returned fire at the three convoys. Bullets are firing all over the place ripping through all the metal, almost making it’s way through the rock so we fire more to get them to retreat. One pulls out and rpg missle launcher and fires right into the window and hits my man and flies him to the back of the room and is now dead.

I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. I was scared I had no idea what to do after I have just saw that. I called out for my grandpa but he is I can’t seem to get ahold of him. I sit and wait for him but he won’t seem to appear anymore. So I make the decision for me and my men so we keep firing back. More of their men are dropping but now another one of our men are hit. We are down to me and one more man so run out the back to seek cover being something we make sure we are loaded and not hit. I noticed blood on my pant leg and been hit just to the right of my stomach. There is so much fear I can’t even recall being shot at all. They make there way into the building and notice we are gone they come out the back and look us and we open tons of fire at them as they die off one by one. We wait and sit there for more men to come to out and open more fire on the my corporal is hit it is just me out here alone. But all the men are dead now, including my own. I’m all alone with limited ammo and no way home till tomorrow morning. I go around the building and then I hear a gun cocked behind me and put to my head. The man started speaking and I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying. I was pushed out to the middle and then more men came up. I sat there on my knees and they are all talking to each other it’s all taliban so I can not understand what they are even saying. I get hit in the back of the head with a gun, and I fell over very dizzy.

I got back up and I was hit over and over. Blood is falling from my face and dripping down my vest. Blood dripping out of my mouth on the sand. I am hit one more time, I fall over and I can see my grandpa watching and saying stay down and not to move. I don’t listen I get back up and spit in the man’s face. He picks his gun up and points it right at my head. I stared at the end of the barrel and said “Do it now!” Then he fires the gun. Everything had felt unnormal. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. There was a bright light and I could do nothing but stare at it. I couldn’t get scared or feel fear, my body wouldn’t let me. Everything felt clear again but everything still felt a little weird. I was on the helicopter back to the base. I get back to the base and I am carried to the tent and then they then take me off the bed. At the moment I knew what was actually going on when I seen them carry my own body into the tent. It didn’t feel real at all, I was nervous and scared at the same time, I didn’t know what to do at all. I watched them try to bring me back to life. Nothing was working at all, they have tried everything and still nothing so they called it. On my day to return home from the military a marine is sent to my house to inform my family. He walked up to the door. On top of the house it said “Welcome home Marine.”

I started tearing up and I was upset they would not get to see their Marine one last time. My mom and my wife walk to the screen door and are told about my death in the military and how I did a terrific job protecting and dying for his own men. My wife fell to the ground crying I walked up to the porch steps and said it will all be okay. My mom was crying but she was also speaking to god asking to take care of her Marine. Im dead and I just wish they could see and hear me. I only could see them through my spirit. I looked at them both as the Marine left and I told them both I loved them and That I will be up with grandpa watching down. After this I just didn’t know what to do I didn’t want to see my family like this at all. It’s not anything anyone should have to through after they pass. Especially after they promise to come back to their loved ones and never make it back. Marines sign a contract to leave their families and loved ones not because they want to but also because they want to make there life better as a man. While you are reading this there are more than 300,000 homeless Marines on the streets and this number is rising. Also out there a veteran is losing his family. Just with time you are watching this there is a veteran roaming the streets helpless. An not a single veteran understands. They gave everything. Yet we are failing them. Marines are willing to give their own lives for people here that do not care just to make this place a safer place. I went to the military with a full life ahead of me to make myself a better person and defend this country in the most dangerous parts of this country. I planned to come back to my family, wife and kid. It was never supposed to be like this. So all I can do is wish the best for my family as I leave. I turn around and my grandpa was standing at the edge of the walkway by the street with his arms out. I walk about and hug him and them he tells me “Welcome to heaven, god will take care of us”. We walk away together glancing one more time at the two fading away with the wind.