Posted 24 May 2014 - 06:55 AM
I know how hard it is to ask for help. Many of my brother and sister Marines need help but the stubborn ******** won't accept it. The same men and women who leaned on each other for years in the most hellish circumstance imaginable can't admit that they need somebody to lean on now. It seems like defeat to them.
But we're the most revered, most feared, and most endeared fighting force in history. Our warrior ethos is the envy of fighting men and women the world over and it got that way because every Marine can depend upon every other Marine. You have my support and my funding, should the credentials check out. I did not swear an oath upon my very life to defend civilians at any cost just to abandon it now. I will not disclose the amount of the donation, and I want no thanks for it. I expect it will clear by Tuesday at the latest.
Marines, fall in! There has to be at least one of you here. If not,I suppose I'll take some of you more worthless servicemembers. We have a mission! This civilian is in trouble, lost a damn child! Do you remember how much that hurts? How much did it hurt the first time you saw one of your comrades die in front of you? The answer is not at all, because you had a mission to accomplish. But it hurt a lot later, didn't it? Do you want other people to go through that? Do you want them to dwell on loss because they're stuck dealing with it alone?
We have a mission, boys and girls, and that mission is to give whatever we have to spare. Maybe you're not a Marine, maybe you're from some other service, maybe even a foreign military, maybe just a civilian, but I know that in each and every one of you there is a Marine. The objective is to assist this person in their time of need. It will be difficult, it will require the donation of money you worked hard for, money you could use yourself. And since when has that mattered to those with the pride to call themselves Marines? We get short-changed constantly, but every single second of it is worth it to bring happiness to those we defend.
So stand up now, and show your support! If you cannot give money, give your care and condolences! Speak from the heart, let these people know how you have shared their pain, and remind them that there is life after loss! There is always life, full of opportunities and joy. Will, you fight? Will you join me on this mission? Or will you falter and fail?
Those who have the courage and integrity to stand alongside this civilian in need of help, to be what they need most in a time of need, form up! I expect nothing less than your total commitment to this mission and it had better be successful.