One Of The Parodoxes Of

I've Been Immersed In It Too Long. My Spirit Is Wobbly And My Mind Is Confused. The Hurt Has Become Too Great.

I Was Away From The Front Lines For A While This Spring, Living With Other Troops, And Considerable Fighting Took Place While I Was Gone. When I Got Ready To Return To My Old Friends At The Front I Wondered If I Would Sense Any Change In Them.

I've Really Been Sick With This Cold, But I Think I Might Have Kept The Columns Going Anyhow Except I Was Just So Low In Spirit, I Didn't Have The Will To Struggle Against Them When My Deadline Was So Close And I Felt So Lousy.

In Their Eyes As They Pass Is Not Hatred, Not Excitement, Not Despair, Not The Tonic Of Their Victory - There Is Just The Simple Expression Of Being Here As Though They Had Been Here Doing This Forever, And Nothing Else.

Marines Have A Cynical Approach To War. They Believe In Three Things; Liberty, Payday And That When Two Marines Are Together In A Fight, One Is Being Wasted. Being A Minority Group Militarily, They Are Proud And Sensitive In Their Dealings With Other Military Organizations. A Marine's Concept Of A Perfect Battle Is To Have Other Marines On The Right And Left Flanks, Marine Aircraft Overhead And Marine Artillery And Naval Gunfire Backing Them Up.