THE FEW THE PROUD

As of this past week my brother Brian is now one of The Few and The Proud, he is a Marine. I was so proud to celebrate with him at his Boot Camp Graduation. It has taken me a few days to process through it and decide what I really wanted to say.

When he chose to enlist last Spring it sounded like a good fit for Brian, and after seeing him at graduation, I know it is a good fit for him. I will risk sounding cheesy and cliche, but when I saw him in his uniform and marching with his platoon, the military became real to me. I now have real person to associate with the military. As I watched him and the other guys, a few who look like kids to me, I was humbled by their willingness to serve our country and protect my freedom. I gave Brian a book of quotes about everyday heroes, here is one of the quotes that stood out to me:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." Ambrose Redmoon

These young men have made the judgement that freedom, honor and service is more important than fear. What a brave decision they have made. Like I said I was totally humbled watching these guys, they have more courage than I could ever muster up. I never want to forget what our military sacrifices for my freedom.

Here are some pictures of our time:

This is Brian's platoon. He is in the second column from the left and the second one back. It's kind of hard to spot him, especially when they all look alike. I had the luxury of having binoculars at the graduation ceremony.

Brian and I right after the graduation

My little brothers, it's really weird to me that I'm about to be the shortest of the group. I remember holding each one of them as babies.

Here's my whole family

This first video is of the short speech given to the Marines. My favorite part was when he was encouraging the new Marines to go home and recruit he said: "You shouldn't be the only one to enjoy an all expenses paid trip to San Diego." Even though the guys couldn't move you know they were all laughing.

Here is Brian's platoon marching in front of us. Again, it's kind of hard to spot Brian.

This last video is the one made by the Marine Corp. Brian is the 3rd guy you will see. In the background you can hear them doing their drill yells.

Before I left I had been telling Will that I was going to San Diego to bring Brian home. I called home to check on Jared and the boys in between my flights and Will got on the phone, all he said was:

"Hi Mom, put Brian on the phone."

He just couldn't wait to talk to his Uncle Brian. Better yet, here are both the boys with Brian after he got home, they were so excited to see him.

Brian, we are so proud of you!