My Dad the Marine

This is my awesome Dad who served in the Marines during Vietnam. The way he ended up in the Marines is quite the story and I will tell it as best as I remember.

When my Dad was 18 he got drafted. He reported to the MEPS station and he says there were a bunch of guys in the room. They started asking for volunteers to join the Marines. Nobody raised their hand. Things have changed a lot since then but the Marines was not something you would volunteer for when my Dad joined. After a few minutes the Officers said they would start drawing names from a hat. So they did. This big burly guy got called, and my Dad says he freaked out more or less. So much so they took him from the room. Amongst a few other names my Dad's was the next called, but he thought "doesn't matter. I'll be going home tonight anyway". See, earlier he had been to see the military doctor because he had had rheumatic fever when he was 12. The doctor wrote a letter that was to be my Dad's get out of jail free card due to the illness. So he volunteered himself to join the Marines thinking he was going to be released anyway per Doctor's orders. The officers opened the letter, read it, and told him to pack his bags. The letter more or less said that yes he had had rheumatic fever when he was younger but that there were no lasting effects and he was fit for duty. He called my Grandma from San Diego two days later telling her he would see her in a couple years. I can only imagine what that conversation was like. Semper Fi!