My friend’s son wrote this just before he deployed to Iraq the second time:
Marine Lance Cpl. Eric Freeman
Feb. 16, 2004
I see myself standing at the edge of a precipice, about to take the plunge. In 24 hours I’ll be on a plane, leaving Okinawa and all the amenities we always take for granted. Soon I’ll return to “The Land of Squalor” as the Sgt. Major puts it. Back to Iraq. I guess my Karma has some more debt to repay.
I suppose this must be what it feels like to walk the ‘green mile’. I’ve known it was coming since November, but it’s just now hitting home. I’m about to spend almost twice as long in Iraq as I did my first trip and that first trip was the most miserable time of my life. So this will be at least twice as bad as the worst time of my life. Hot damn, I love this job.
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Unfortunately, Eric was killed in a car accident stateside just prior to his third deployment.