One Marine's introspection

(c) Roger Leo

"The interesting thing is - well, a lot of us grew up with the shade of Vietnam hanging over our parents' heads right? ... We joined the military because we WANT to go and fight and see if we are as worthy under fire as the previous generation. It's part of our mentality and culture. The average Marine here really could care less about global politics - he wants to know what he'll do when the bullets hit. The rest of the stuff floating around his head about patriotism and duty - it's not as solidified an ideal as the rest of it."