Posted by Jonas on Thursday, March 13, 2003 at 9:25PM :
In Reply to: Another Demographics Question posted by Paul Cook on Thursday, March 13, 2003 at 3:29PM :
I swear out of all the states I've been to, Texas is the most patriotic as a whole! I grew up in Maine, and it's probably the least patriotic. When I was a senior in HS and everyone was deciding what to do, either go to college, or hang around and smoke dope (not that I have anything against anyone who did or does either...) Myself and another guy decided to join the Marine Corps on the buddy program.
I think the last time I saw my buddy was when we signed the enlistment papers! Anyway, I lost a lot of friends because I was looked down upon for not going to college like everyone else. I left Maine behind to look for adventure and make a life for myself. I spent 5 years in the Marines, went to the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Rawanda, Japan, S. Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austrailia, South America, Germany, many points in between, and got to live in Carlsbad CA. Some places were great (Thailand) some places I wish I had never seen (Somalia, Rawanda). But I always felt like I was living history, not reading about it in a classroom. The Military was great for me, but it's not for everyone. I think the service as a whole is better without the draft as the people actually want to be there.
Now I am 30 and married with a beautiful wife and 26 month old son. I am also currently in the Army National Guard, and looking at leaving my family behind for over a year, maby two. Once we get through this Iraq thing, I'm giving some serious thought to hanging up the holster, and just be a father and husband. Or maby trade the holster in for a set of SCUBA tanks at a Naval EOD/ diving unit that's local.
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