Posted on 08/18/2005 4:29:31 PM PDT by SandRat
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif., Aug. 18, 2005 – "After all the things he has been through, I'm sure he isn't worried about me screaming in his ear," Marine Staff Sgt. Nathan Nofziger, a drill instructor here, said about his West African recruit.
Pfc. Nimley Tabue is one of the 271 recruits in Company B, but few could say they've been in his shoes. The soft-spoken Liberia native recalls visions of war and the struggles he and his family went through to survive when thinking back to his native country.
Tabue's parents came from different tribes. He said his parents' tribal differences did not affect his family until a war between the tribes erupted in 1989.
"My father refused to kill, so (rebels) tried to kill him," Tabue said.
Tabue remembers fleeing through the country for three days as a child. "We stopped by a river once to get some water," said Tabue, who was with his mother and siblings at the time. "I held my 4-month-old brother in my arms as he died."
According to Tabue, his father, Aloysuis Tabue, traveled to America searching for ways to improve his family's life, and he called home often. "I learned about the Marines from my father," Tabue said. "He would say, 'If you guys come over here, make sure you do something with your life. The Marines will give you something no other service can.'"
Because of the ongoing war around him, school became less of a priority, and Tabue was taken out of school following the second grade. He, along with his mother and sister, came to Chicago to live with his father.
At 12 years old, Tabue jumped back into the school swing. But after four years without touching a book, school presented a new challenge. "I forgot how to do math, and my English was bad," Tabue said. "I had to go to school over the summer and take extra classes."
After years of extra classes, Tabue's name was added to the high school honor roll.
Tabue had not planned on leaving Chicago, but he remembered what his father had always told him about the Corps. "He told me, 'This is where they separate the men from the boys,'" Tabue said.
Adjusting to boot camp was harder than any English class.
"When he showed up, he was lost," Nofziger said. "He couldn't accomplish any of the simplest tasks. His (bunk) mate helped him with everything."
Tabue agreed. "The first day was horrible. I almost lost my temper when the drill instructor got in my face. ... But I told myself it was just a mind game.
"I had trouble speaking in third person (as required in boot camp). Instead of saying 'This recruit requests permission to use the head,' I would say, 'I would like to use the head.' Drill instructors didn't really like that."
He didn't do it purposely, but "incentive training" always followed and he learned, Tabue said.
When the Crucible -- the grueling 54-hour field exercise that is the culmination of boot camp -- came, Tabue found his role in the platoon. "He stepped up," Nofziger said. "He wasn't a squad leader, but he acted as one."
The only element of training that gave Tabue more trouble than third-person speech was the Crucible. Tabue said the physical aspects of the Crucible were not as challenging for him as the mental parts were.
"We had people arguing among themselves for nothing," he said. "Everybody was giving orders, but nobody wanted to lead. Some people don't want to do it. But you got to step up and tell them, 'Hey, we got to get this done.' I am not usually the person to do that."
When recruits wanted to bicker about challenges, Tabue stepped up and led, Nofziger said.
After Marine Corps recruit training, Tabue will become a mortarman in the Marine Corps Reserve. He said he'll be ready to fight.
(Marine Lance Cpl. Dorian Gardner is assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.)
New Marine from Liberia
Semper fi, Nimley!!
Awesome story--a great example of what patriotism is all about! Thanks for this ping, Sand!
Very cool!!
My next door neighbor is a Liberian immigrant. He has two sons serving in the Army. He's a wonderful man--attends school full time to get his degree, with a full-time job AND a part-time job counseling former gang members. His daughter goes to Christian school with my daughter. He's the best neighbor you could ask for (except for his barking dogs--but I'll overlook that!)
Damn, but if I didn't just get an email from one of his relatives!
We have been sissyfied so much that there are very few "rights of passage" for young men. For sure, Marine boot camp is the daddy of them all. I have not met one young man out of Marine boot camp who has not impressed me.
You see this, Darks? Artillery!
Wonder if he is from the Americos.
Godspeed in any event.
And of course, before a battle can be fought and won, they must first be fought and won on the battelfield of the mind.
Great post, SandRat. How marvelous that his father just knew. Immigration the right way.
Imagine the emotions that will be running through him while his loved ones watch while at ease on the parade ground, with his company, he shall be handed a small Marine emblem to attach to his top (field hat is a top in Marine talk). Perhaps his eyes will get a bit wet. A Semper Fi in advance for this recruit, he will soon become a United States Marine.
"For sure, Marine boot camp is the daddy of them all. I have not met one young man out of Marine boot camp who has not impressed me."
Thats for sure. And I can only say I saw female recruits with DI running on PI base, they where sharp as razor wire!
Al Qaeda would be absolutely no match for these female Marines no matter how rabid and drugged up they where. Our gals would drill em new holes between their eyes before they could duck.
Not meaning to be an ass, but a Marine's hat is referred to as a cover.
"Not meaning to be an ass, but a Marine's hat is referred to as a cover."
Your not the ass! I am! I know it is called a cover and for some reason called it a top. I think posting here has gone to my head.
Thanks for the public correction. I would not have noticed what I typed incorrectly!
Semper FI Uncle!
USMC HAAMD 1981 - 1996
Sir. I stand at attention and smartly salute you. Thank you for your service to our country.
Semper Fi.
BTTT!!!!!
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