The United States Marine Corps, Established 10 Nov 1775
The Virginia Military Institute, Founded 11 Nov 1839
Veteran's Day 11 Nov
Yesterday was very low key. There are no Marines stationed on Camp Spann. Nonetheless I found several brothers who wore the uniform of the finest fighting force the world has ever known to exchange birthday greetings. We have one retiree and several Guardsmen who are former Marines on the camp. The KBR chowhall was nice enough to commemorate the event with decorations and a cake.
Today I proudly displayed the VMI flag my Brother Rats sent me on the door of my office all day long, drawing several comments. I also wore my VMI '89 reunion cap as much as possible, although not strictly allowed in the uniform regulations. VMI continues going strong at 170 years of tradition unhampered by progress.
There was a short observance of Veteran's Day in the chapel tonight. Several citations for living Medal of Honor recipients were read. I realized as the Navy one was read that I was on a ship during Desert Sheild with this particular honoree. He was a very unassuming and humble gentleman. At the conclusion of the ceremony "We Were Soldiers" was shown in the chapel. It is really the first war movie I have seen while here in Afghanistan. It is a good study demonstrating the value of quality leadership. It also showed the sacrifices veterans and their families make.
Hi Neil,
ReplyDeleteI was hoping you were home already but I guess you still have a few months to go. You sound like you are doing ok but I wish you all were home. I haven't talked to Trish in a while, I'm going to send her an email in a minute but I wanted to check on you first. We are loving Japan.
Florrie