Part II is here (the friend part).
Lando 
Posted on 02/18/2005 8:18:58 PM PST by Lando Lincoln
I spent the weekend of the Iraqi election in Huntington Beach, talking to my nephew, Tim Tardif. The last time I’d seen Tim was just before the invasion of Iraq. On a Thursday afternoon in January, 2003, I got a call from my sister, Cathy, saying that Tim, a Lance Corporal, was soon to leave for Iraq with the Marines, and that he and his fiancé, Alisha, had decided to get married that Saturday. Cathy and her husband Gil were flying out from Annapolis. Could we make it? My wife and I drove down from Fresno the next day. Alisha and her mother, Corliss, had set a logistical milestone in getting the ceremony and celebration together virtually overnight. Tim, who had bulked out of his dress uniform with weight lifting, borrowed a bigger one from a buddy. A few days later Tim was on a charter jet for Kuwait.
Although I didn’t see a lot of Tim while he was growing up, since my sister and I usually lived on opposite sides of the continent, during those times when we did get together, I was always impressed by Tim’s calm and gentleness. He seemed to look out at the world from a deep reservoir of benevolence—not the kind of personality I’d necessarily associate with the Marines. But another side of Tim’s character was a love of physical challenge and contact sports. He played football and rugby in high school, became an Eagle Scout, and joined the Marines in an early entry program when he was only a junior in high school. In his senior year, Tim kept up with sports and school, but in addition, he and other high school students in the program did physical training with their recruiter.
(Excerpt) Read more at victorhanson.com ...
Lando
LInk takes you to part I.
Speechless. BTT.
Still sniffling...great story.
ping
One-more-for-the-Corps BTT.
To the Marines, You will never be forgotten when free people remember their heros. I for one Love you guys.
Marine Bump!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
A great story & look inside…
Now, can anybody tell me that a TV news program that went on the air nightly with stories like this wouldn't crush the opposition?
It just goes to show how ideological they have gotten, that they are smashing their own ratings rather than tell the truth--a truth that nearly all their listeners would certainly love to hear.
This story enhances my pride in being a veteran, our military, and most of all, in being an American.
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