Why We Fight

Everyone has their own personal reasons for serving in the military. Some do it for education, some for personal growth, a few for a sense of patriotism, still others because of a court order, hah! Whatever the reason, we all still put that uniform on and head out every day.

This is my story.

Growing up around my grandfather, I kept hearing key words like "the war", or "Asiatic Fleet", and "my old ship". Those words didn't mean a lot to me at the time, until I tagged along during an Asiatic Fleet Four-Stacker Destroyer reunion. I met those people he served with, I would catch a story here and there and soon realized that they had gone through hell and back.

The romantic idea of the World War 2 Navy stayed with me all the way to the day I took my own oath on April 27th 2005. My wife and I decided that the military would be a good way to start our new lives together in bad economy. We didn't have a lot of money, we had just been evicted out of our home, and neither of our job prospects looked very good at all. Those 6 months in Erwin, TN at my grandparents old home I spent running, lifting weights, doing push-ups, and thinking about what the Navy will be like.

This continued all the way until Laura and I traveled to Cullowhee to drop me off the day before I was supposed to ship off to Boot Camp, Oct 31 2005. That goodbye has been the hardest to date.

I was processed at the Charlotte MEPS stationed and sent to the airport on my favorite holiday, Halloween. The plane arrived at O'Hare airport that night at around 9pm, and we were ushered to the USO. From there we were marched onto the bus, where on the way I executed a perfect marching band-style corner turn. I was yelled at for attempted such a maneuver, though years of marching told me otherwise, hah!

It didn't take me long after I arrived at boot camp, went on to my schools, and finally out to the fleet to realize that it was now what we refer to as the "new Navy". Yeah sure, hearing my grandfather's stories, seeing those battleships in Mobile Bay, Alabama and Wilmington, NC and being inspired by the characters in films like Band of Brothers really influenced what I though life was going to be like in the service. I'm happy that I was able to experience everything that I seen and done, I think it has made me a better, more worldly person. I think that it has made my marriage that much stronger for having endured through all these deployments.

My motivation was originally a sense of duty and a means to start a family. I promised Laura that if we wanted to start a family, I would show her how committed I was. Along the way I've gained technical training, seen many many countries, lived in Japan, and received many accolades for my work. The new Navy's been pretty good to me.

A skipped a lot, but that's basically my story.