Living With A Marine

My favorite Marine hasn't always been the easiest person to live with over the years but as I write this I am watching him out the window as he a pretties up flower beds outside our charming guest cottage! His gardening and baking are relatively new hobbies bringing a new peace to his life.
Like so many his age, Ron served in Vietnam in the 60's. He doesn't relive the experience out loud! On occasion we discuss the horrors of war and how greatly they impact a soldier's life. I can only imagine and base my understanding on his accounts and those of images captured during battles and maneuvers. Each picture filled with so much emotion and pain that I don't know if I can ever fully comprehend some of his meanings behind his words.
But I do understand this . . .once a Marine, always a Marine. His devotion to this group of elite soldiers is commendable. Life stateside continues, a soldier must readapt to society while the memories of war and destruction redefine his personality and once ordinary life!
Every day that a soldier sacrifices his or her life for our life here in America I am reminded what a privilige it is to conduct my ordinary life without interruption or fear!

Below is a letter from Commander A.V. Marusak of the USS LaSalle as it leaves for a tour of the Meditterranean in 1964.

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