Old Photos, Memories and Eulogies
I was going though some old photos from my years in the Marine Corps recently and I found
pictures from a deployment in 1982 with TOW Company, 2nd Tank battalion, 2nd MARDIV.
I looked at all of us clowning around and posing for snapshots "on Muscle beach" which was
found wherever there was space between the racks. These photos and finding notes from
a speech class where I wrote and read a eulogy made me do some serious thinking about
our nation, and the war we are only now finally dealing with.
To many people the war on terror truly began with the horrors of a day that will forever be
known as just 9/11, but for me it truly began a long time prior to that. 9/11 is a day that is
indelibly etched into my memory but as I look at these pictures and my notes some older
ones come sharply into focus once again.
It was early in the morning after closing the liquor store I was managing after finishing my
hitch in the Corps; I turned on my television to some news channel and what do I see but
a report on the Marines in Beirut, Lebanon suffering an attack by a truck bomb. I was
glued to the screen as I thought about who I might have known as the death toll climbed
higher and higher with every news break. I knew there were probably at least a few guys
that I knew at the airport and barracks there. When my sister called me the next day and
the barracks attack came up she stated "we are all so glad you are out of the Marine's now."
I admit with shame that there was a part of me that felt the same way even as my anger
grew in proportion to the rising casualty numbers.
The following weekend I went to work and after opening up the store, I picked up the New
York Times to read the news. Then I reached page seven and saw a face from the past
on the top of the page. It was One of the guys from "Muscle Beach", Guillermo.
In the photo he is shown sitting down petting a dog that the marines had adopted. The
caption said that he had died of his wounds while he was being evacuated to the hospital.
I was hit hard by the news not because we were best friends or anything close, but because
it just made no sense at all for him to have been the one who died. I knew in my head that
there were a lot of good Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers killed but all I could think was "Hey
not Pedro!"
There were quotes from his parents in the paper stating that they were saddened but still
very, very proud of their son and his service to his nation. I felt very sad for them and they
seemed like nice folks who's lives had just been turned upside down.
Now in reflection I see that he was just giving back to the United States the courage and
faith his parents had shown in this country when they escaped a despotic regime to start
their lives all over in Florida. I do remember that he always had a great deal of respect for his
folks, and the dignity they showed in their comments during a painful time to an intrusive
reporter only prove it.
I don't remember why I chose to do a eulogy for Pedro when I was in a speech class at
Ft. Lewis 12 years after his death, but I found out that trying to bring some meaning to a
persons death is much more difficult than it appears. I found out that it is hard to maintain
your composure even 12 years after the fact. Even now I find that this is a difficult blog
to write, and I am not standing in front of you.
I remember Pedro's sense of humor most of all; I think that when you serve with someone
it is the funny times that you most want to remember.
As I read the names of the 241 servicemembers who were killed I recognize more
than Pedro, but he is the one who I will not allow myself to forget.
I won't, And I won't let those who serve with me now forget.
Guillermo SanPedro Jr.~ Killed 23 October, 1983
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Later that day, A picture that says a lot.
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