The Yellow Footprints

        Thirty six years ago today as a young teenager I stood on the yellow footprints at Parris Island, South Carolina. I entered the Marine Corps with a high school buddy who I am still in contact with today. We were both young and ready to conquer the world. I still remember the Drill Instructors as they boarded the bus. They were screaming and yelling for us to get off the bus quickly, veins were popping out of their foreheads, spittle was splashing everywhere as they continued to scream. We were moving as fast as we could but the screaming was just getting louder. They dropped us off at receiving barracks where it was as hot as hades. I remember that day like it was yesterday as I was trying to stand at attention in the sweltering heat, sweat pouring off of me until I could no longer stand and finally passed out. Compassion was not a trademark of my Drill Instructors, as I awoke to one of them screaming in my face as if I laid down on purpose to take a nap. It was one of the longest days I've ever experienced. Boot camp was not fun, but it's where I grew up from a small boy to a young man. It's where I learned what teamwork was all about. My fellow recruits counted on me as much as I counted on them. We shared everything we had amongst ourselves. A highlight of recruit training besides graduation was mail call. Each night the Senior Drill Instructor would call us to the quarterdeck and he would sit in his favorite chair and call out our names. He'd look at the envelope and then look at us and in his own way nod a look of approval toward us. It was his way of showing that we were okay and that we were doing well. At times a recruit would get a box of chow from home and the Senior would make him open it and share it among his fellow recruits, the only draw back was that it had to be all eaten before mail call ended. Talk about fast eaters! The experience of standing on the yellow footprints is something I'll always cherish. Serving the United States as a Marine was an awesome experience and I'd do it the same all over again. Semper Fidelis