How It All Began

 

THE MYTH OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE:

WHAT LIFE WAS REALLY LIKE IN THE GREEN MACHINE

THE RECRUITER FORGOT TO TELL YOU WHAT?

 

By Gary R. Winstead

Mom, Dad, future, current and former Marines, join me in a journey. This is the story of poor boy, entering manhood in the shadow of the local lumberyard, hoping to escape a life of poverty and obscurity by joining the Marine Corps.

All the ads ask, do you want to be one of the few, one of the proud? Are they a generalization of the future, or a complete fabrication? Will the Marine Corps give you the opportunity to break the bonds of your class, or forever linger on a lost dream? Will a four year commitment give you the tools to climb the steep ladder of success, or squander your youth?

This is my story. I fully intended to make a career of the Marine Corps, which served as the catalyst for my joining. Did I know what was coming? Yes and no. There is a thin line between evasion and “truthiness.”