Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008

Military drawn to serve in Iraq

I ran into a bunch of America's heroes the other day during a Marine Corps golf outing at Whispering Pines Golf Course.

I had joined about 30 Marines, many from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, to play golf prior to a Marine Corps Ball held last Saturday night at the Landmark Resort.

The ball was primarily for members of the Marine Corps Judge Advocate General Corps.

And I came away amazed, once again, by how much the war in Iraq means to those who wear a uniform.

Listen to Tech Sgt. Jeremy Cain, 35, who is shipping out to Iraq in January.

Cain, a former Marine recruiter, is now the military equivalent of a paralegal, assigned to Combat Logistics regiment 27 at Camp Lejeune.

"I'm ready," he said. "It's the reason I joined the Marine Corps."

He said he's wanted to go to Iraq since the war began but never served in a deployable unit.

"It's hard to believe it's taken this long. I talked to a guy who has only been in the Marines for three years and he had already spent a year in Iraq and was getting ready to go back.

"I've been in 17 years, and I'm just now getting there for the first time."

I had seen and read about so many young men and women who returned from Iraq and could not wait to return.

Some of them I mentioned in a column a year ago after watching an HBO special, "Alive Day," about severely wounded soldiers and Marines.

Several of the wounded, even amputees, wanted to return to their units in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I noted that Iraq is not exactly the Garden of Eden. Why do so many want to return after their tour is over?

"I think it's the camaraderie you form in a place like that," he said. "You know your friends are over there, and you want to be with them."

And, as he said before, it's why they joined the Army or Marines in the first place - to answer the call to defend their country.

God bless 'em.

Unfortunately, Cain will have to ship his golf clubs home to his wife and three children.

"As far as I know, there aren't any golf courses over there," he said.

I didn't know, but I suggested that when we start seeing Rees Jones building golf courses outside Baghdad, it will probably be time to come home, anyway.

And whatever the good sergeant says, I hope that day comes soon.

ONLINE | For past columns, go to the Bestler page at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.