HeroBlog
Black America #1 - Frederick Douglas
Occupation: American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman
Hometown: Talbot County, Maryland
“I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.”
Were the words found in the first page of the first chapter of Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey’s autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
This man’s humble beginning began with the separation of Douglas from his grandmother and he was sent to Baltimore to Hugh Auld.
Hugh’s wife, Sophia, started teaching Douglas the alphabet at the tender age of twelve. This was actually an illegal practice as it is against the law to teach slaves to read. When Hugh discovered what his wife was doing, he immediately voiced his disapproval. He stated that if a slave learned to read, then he would become dissatisfied with his life and desire freedom. Douglas took this as a challenge and continued to learn to read from the white children in the neighborhood. Then Mrs. Auld found out, and told him that education and slavery were incompatible with each other. Challenge accepted! Eventually he began teaching other slaves. But this was not enough, the more he learned, the more he wanted freedom.
In 1837, Douglas met and fell in love with Anna Murray, a free black from Baltimore. The idea of her being free strengthened his resolve in gaining his own freedom. He finally obtained his goal by dressing in a sailor’s uniform and boarded a train to make a long journey until he reached New York.
Once he finally gained his freedom, he did not stop there he also fought for women’s rights! He claimed that he could not accept the right to vote if women could not.
"In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half of the moral and intellectual power of the government of the world."
All in all, this man knew no boundaries. After years of people putting obstacles in his ways and telling what he could not do. He looked at each hurdle with the same mind set: Challenge accepted!
Marine Heroes #9 - Kenneth L. Reusser
Rank: Colonel
Hometown: Cloverdale, Oregon
Captain Kenneth L. Reusser and his wingman Robert R. Klingman were flying their stripped-down F4U-4 Corsairs on a routine mission. It was May 10, 1945, near Okinawa, and the American fleet was preparing to invade Japan.
Their special fighter planes were customized for a speedy ascent above the clouds. Suddenly, Capt. Reusser spotted a Japanese Kawasaki “Dragon Killer,” an observation plane, taking pictures of America’s invasion fleet. Reusser realized that he must destroy that plane before it can report on American positions.
Reusser and Klingman climbed to 40,000 feet, nearly double the optimal altitude. They chased the Dragon Killer for over 150 miles before they can get close enough to fire their machine guns. The enemy dropped to 38,000 feet. It’s hit, but still flying. Reusser closed in for the kill… the cold air had jammed his guns!
His fuel was running low and he made a quick decision. He pushed the Corsair closer and closer to the Dragon Killer. Using his Corsair’s giant propeller, Reusser chewed away the tail of the enemy spy plane. His wingman followed his lead. The Dragon Killer was sent into the Pacific Ocean with its precious cargo of film.
That might have been the highlight of any Marine aviator’s career, but not for Kenneth Reusser. He was the only veteran to fly over 259 combat missions in three wars: World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. He was shot down five times, at least once in each war. He remained one of the most decorated pilots in the history of the Marine Corps.
Colonel Reusser retired after 28 years, with two Navy Crosses for valor plus five Purple Hearts for injuries in battle, and 42 other decorations. He lived with his wife near Portland, Oregon until 2009.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #8 - Raymond Davis
Rank: General
Hometown: Fitzgerald, GA
Bright flashes and loud explosions burst all around the First Battalion of the Seventh Marines as they marched up a narrow gravel trail, hardly suitable for even the local ox-carts. They were up 3,000 feet in the frigid North Korean mountains with sniper bullets coming from every direction.
Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis suddenly fell to the ground as a shell struck his helmet. His thick winter clothing had already been pierced by two bullets, but Davis got back to his feet to lead his men.
A company of Marine riflemen were trapped by a Chinese surprise attack at the Chosin Reservoir. He and his men fought as they climbed three ridges, traversed the narrow path for eight miles, and dug through the frozen snow in temperatures as low as -35°F, the coldest Korean winter in 100 years.
Lt. Colonel Davis and his First Battalion saved those riflemen, and fought to hold the narrow mountain pass for another dozen days as two Marine regiments escaped destruction. The withdrawal, the longest in American military history, would take 13 days and cost many lives.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when nearly one hundred thousand soldiers from the North crossed the 38th parallel that divided South Korea from the Communist North Korea. Unprepared and overwhelmed, the South Korean army was almost destroyed and the South's capitol city of Seoul fell to the invaders within days.
The tide of the war dramatically turned on September 15th when General Douglas McArthur led his forces through the dramatic landing at Inchon. Victory was swift and decisive until the Americans and British forces neared the border with China. The North Koreans were devastated.
The Chinese had warned the United Nations forces not to cross the 38th parallel, and in November 1950, about 8,000 Americans, mostly Marines, were stealthily surrounded by 100,000 experienced Chinese soldiers. At that moment, Raymond Davis was sent to rescue the Marines who had been cut-off.
Lt. Colonel Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Truman for that bitter cold, valiant mission in the mountains of Korea. During his long career he also received the Navy Cross in World War II, two Distinguish Service Medals, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Legion of Merits, Bronze Star , a Purple Heart, 5 Presidential Unit Citations, 3 NUCs.
Over three decades, Raymond Davis also filled every possible staff and command assignment. During his military career, he has commanded every level of combat from platoon to Division. He was Executive Officer of the 7th Marines in Korea. Lieutenant Colonel Davis was also in 14 Campaigns, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam and has been awarded Seven Foreign Awards. He retired in 1972 as a full four-star General.
Raymond Davis is a true American hero.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #7 - Alfred M. Gray
Rank: Lieutenant General
Hometown: Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
There have been thirty-four Commandants of the US Marine Corps. Thirty-three of their pictures show Marines in their formal dress uniforms with rows of ribbons, but no so for Lt. General Alfred Gray. As a reminder that “the primary role of every Marine is a rifleman”, he had his official photograph taken in the Camouflage Utility Uniform.
It was a dark and difficult year for the US Marine Corps in 1987. Still recovering from the 1983 bombing of the Beirut barracks, several Marines were accused of espionage at the US embassy in Moscow, and Lt. Col. Oliver North appeared daily in uniform to answer charges of illegal activities before a Congressional committee.
Nobody thought Gray had a chance at the job. After all, he spent most of his career outside Washington and, according to one source he "lacks the smooth edges you normally see in Washington."
Gray had risen from private to four-star general. Enlisting in the Marines in 1950, he achieved the rank of sergeant before being selected for officer training and being commissioned a second lieutenant in 1952. By definition, serving in the enlisted ranks prior to becoming an officer makes Gray a "mustang," which generally commands more respect in the Corps due to the combination of officer smarts and enlisted practicality.
Then Secretary of the Navy James Webb must have thought some rough edges were needed. He nominated Alfred M. Gray to be the twenty-ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps. After confirmation by the Senate, General Gray assumed his post on July 1, 1987.
Less than a month later, he gave a speech to an audience of Marines. There was no doubt what the new Commandant wanted. He said that Americans saw the Marines as an elite force. They expected excellence from Marines. "I don't think we're that good," he told the officers, "But we're going to be."
"I warn you, the basics mean a lot to me."
Widely considered a visionary at the development of warfare, he is associated both with stimulating the intellectual growth of the Marines while simultaneously emphasizing the Marine culture as warriors.
Gray thought that the Marines had lost focus on their mission and on the values embedded in their tradition. He wrote that the Marine Corps should be "organized for warfighting and adapted for peacetime, rather than vice versa."
So Marines quit running in jogging suits and went back to running the obstacle course in full combat gear. Gray told his officers to listen to the people in their units so they don't miss the good ideas that will "bubble up." To walk that particular talk, Gray spent a lot of time out of Washington, talking with Marines of all ranks.
In 1988, Gray established the Commandant's Reading list, the first service head to make such recommendations for all Marines. He created a research center (that bears his name) where officers were to look ahead a decade or two. He emphasized that learning was intrinsic to being a Marine.
He currently serves on numerous corporate, non-profit, and governmental advisory boards. Now over 80 years old, he still finds time to visit the library at the Alfred M. Gray Research Center to donate the latest books he’s read.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #6 - Guy Gabaldon
Rank: Private First Class
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
The Marine reconnaissance team was bone-tired as they started their dawn patrol of Saipan. They had just weathered the largest Japanese bonzai charge of World War II. For over 15 hours, endless waves of Japanese soldiers and civilians attacked the US Marines with suicidal courage. It had been the longest night of their young lives, and now their commander sent them on this dangerous mission to map out the new Japanese frontlines.
At first light, they could hardly believe their eyes. At the top of a cliff was a single American Marine surrounded by hundreds of Japanese troops, many of them still armed. They first thought that this Marine was experiencing his last moments alive. But as the wide-eyed scouts looked on, it became apparent that the lone Marine was actually ordering his hundreds of prisoners into smaller groups, even as more Japanese streamed quietly up from their sea-side caves. Eventually, 800 Japanese soldiers and civilians surrendered on this one morning, an astonishing number considering Japanese tradition.
That lone Marine was Private Guy Gabaldon, the "Pied Piper of Saipan" and he was already famous on the island for his amazing ability to persuade Japanese troops to surrender. As a young Mexican-American boy, he had learned how to survive by his wits in the mean streets of East Los Angeles. He was one of seven children, but he moved out on his own at the age of 12. A Japanese family in the neighborhood took him in and educated him in their language and culture. When Gabaldon turned 18, he quickly enlisted with the US Marines as an interpreter. He landed on the shores of Saipan with 8,000 Marines under heavy fire on June 15, 1944, just nine days after D-Day in Europe.
"The first night I was on Saipan, I went out on my own," said Gabaldon, "I always worked on my own, and brought back two prisoners using my backstreet Japanese.”
His superior officers were not impressed at first, they promptly reprimanded Private Gabaldon and threatened him with a court-martial if ever left his post again. But he was undeterred, the next morning he returned with 50 prisoners. As a result, Gabaldon was permitted to act as a "lone wolf" by his commanding officer.
His technique was simple. He would carefully make his way to the mouth of Saipan’s many caves. He would shoot the guards and shout into the cave in Japanese: "You're surrounded and have no choice but to surrender. Come out, and you will not be killed! I assure you will be well-treated. We do not want to kill you!"
And so it was on July 7, 1944 that PFC Guy Gabaldon, after spending a night near Saipan's northern cliffs, heard thousands of Japanese troops and civilians preparing for a large "banzai charge." The attack was unsuccessful and the surviving Japanese returned to their positions. The next day, Gabaldon captured two guards and convinced one of them to return to the cave with an offering of surrender. Shortly after, a Japanese officer showed up and after speaking to Gabaldon accepted the conditions of surrender. Over eight hundred soldiers and civilians surrendered to Gabaldon and were turned over to the United States military authorities.
Private Gabaldon single-handedly captured over 1,500 enemy personnel before being ambushed and wounded by machine gun fire. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor by his commanding
officer, Capt. John Schwabe, but received a Silver Star that was later upgraded to the second highest military decoration: a Navy Cross Medal. His exploits were portrayed in the 1960 Hollywood film Hell to Eternity. He was also honored by the Los Angeles City Council, several civic and Latino organizations, and by veterans everywhere for his courageous contribution to the Pacific war effort
.
[Photo: Guy Gabaldon (seated) in 1959 on the movie set of Hell to Eternity]
Marine Blog #5 - Victor Krulak
Rank: Lt. General
Hometown: Denver, Colorodo
The heat on Okinawa was impressive. A far cry from his childhood in Denver, but Brute was never a complainer. He always pushed himself, harder and farther. His will was solid iron, he had never been content to let others decide his fate. He was a true Marine, after all. Shorter than most, but packed with more piss and vinegar than entire regiments of enemy troops. He saw ahead, he instinctively knew the shape of war and where combat was heading. He had landed his batallion in an area packed with ten times as many enemy and had embarked on a cunning campaign of hell-bent warfare.
In his waking moments he was always thinking of better ways for the Marines to do their sworn duty. He helped design the Higgins boats that were becoming standard Marine equipment for amphibious assaults. As his men carefully manuevered and snuck their way around the Soloman Islands and then Okinawa he kept invisioning ways to use helicopter technology in war. He was a fox, fast striking, fighting with cunning- not as a hammer and anvil but as a careful surgical knife ready to cut the heart out of a dangerous foe.
His men were devoted and loyal- willing to fight through the gates of hell with their commander. Brute inspired confidence. His plans always seemed to work- every command he was given was executed in an innovative, precise way.
He kept thinking back to the Solomans. The raid was madness of the sort that won wars. It was the sort of fight you went in to expecting to die. Brute didn't die, however. Instead, his mind was tapped to mastermind the plans for the invasion of Okinawa. At night he slept his four hours and dreamed of bullets and hand grenades. He understood war, and he understood why war hadn't taken his life.
He thought about the traps and the tunnels, the cunning of the enemy, the complacency. A well entrenched enemy never expected a small raid. Daring, mobility, and confusion were a better shield than the thickest plating on a battleship. His superiors understood- not his methods, perhaps, but effectiveness. The Marines have always been resourceful. Marines do what works. His methods worked.
And so it was that his plans and input were respected and used. Throughout World War II and then in Korea and Vietnam he was a vital link in maintaining the Marines as an independent, powerful branch of the Armed Forces. Without this man and his particular mix of bravado and cunning the Marines of today would look very different. Semper Fi, Marine.
General Victor "Brute" Krulak addresses his fellow Marines.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Blog #4 - Eddie S Ray
Rank: Colonel
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Eddie S Ray was in command- codename Barbarian 6, spearheading the assault on Baghdad in command of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battaltion in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their push had been hard and the USMC was ripping across desert roads faster than you can drive from Vegas to LA. It was late February, 1991, and then Captain Ray was remembering his start in the Corps as a private those years ago. He remembered his rise through the ranks and becoming an officer. He remembered the wisdom of old warriors, true Marines who gave everything for their country. He was to need that wisdom that hot desert morning.
He heard a report crackle through his radio- enemy tanks and artillery were massed at a nearby oil field on the flank. He made a snap decision, instincts honed from years of disciplined service. "This is Barbarian 6, we're on our way."
He turned his column toward the enemy and checked in with his scouts and rifleman. "Order air support," he said in a commanding tone.
The sun was rising over the oil fields that morning. The bombs and bursts of machine gun fire from plane and attack chopper sent enemy T-62s scattering like cockroaches. Divisional command was watching closely as Ray maneuvered his column to stop the enemy retreat. The smoke rising from the field obscured vision and conjured a late morning fog. His scouts were well trained, however, and were able to direct the aerial assault as Ray's men fired shot and shell into an enemy fast melting into chaos.
His LAVs in a screen formation, a skilled Marine rifle platoon dug in to the north, scouts calling shots, and a full Cobra assault had weakened the enemy and nullified their attempt at retreat. Now it was time for Ray's men to show the enemy how Marines fight. He attacked with full force.
His men pressed the attack and listened to their commander in his cool, magnificent fury. They pressed on and on through the field to the edge of the Emir's farm, destroying every target in site.
Ray's successful assault had destroyed 38 enemy vehicles, severely damaging their ability to wage war in the field.
He earned a Navy Cross for his bravery in the field that day. Colonel Ray's military career spanned three decades as he rose with great skill from an enlisted private to the rank of colonel. His wisdom as a warrior sets him apart and shows the world that Marine officers are both capable soldiers and scholars. Any Marine would tell you to expect nothing but the best from a Marine.
As he would say, "the best way to get respect is by giving it."
Colonel Ray, in full decoration, dispensing wisdom on the eve of his retirement.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #3 - Dakota Meyer
Rank: Sergeant
Hometown: Greensburg, Kentucky
Outside of a small village in rural Afghanistan not too long before, a platoon of Marines and supporters had gone silent in an area known to be infested with insurgents. At least three Marines were thought dead, as was a corpsman serving as medic for the group. Dakota Meyer ran a cloth over his brow, sweating in the hot Afghani September sun. Modern Marine body armor was heavy and the task at hand nerve wracking even to an alert Marine sniper. Dakota's team was a training team embedded in the region and working closely with local friendlies- but this was no training mission, it was go time.
Quickly drawing up a plan, Dakota rushed headlong through enemy fire. A combination of providence and a lack of range time on the part of the insurgents kept him safe as he moved between cover and took the occasional well aimed shot at the tracer rounds thundering from the insurgent AK's. The minutes seemed days as time slowed for Meyer, rushing ahead of his men, drawing fire, desperate to leave no Marine behind.
Eventually he reached the missing men, their bodies limp, stripped of weapons and all mortal posessions. He let out a cry, frustrated, there was no way to save them but he could still do his duty. He called in the friendly Afghans who were with him and together they fought back, sending expert rounds and supression fire at the enemy. Like cowards, the insurgents ran for the hills and the area was secured.
The brave Marines who had given their lives were carefully brought to a safe location and extracted by the choppers. During this time Dakota used his skilled sniper eyes to more completely search the area. There were more insurgents. He readied his rifle and with superior discipline and Marine grit sent dozens of insurgents running with their tails between their legs. His men readied the machine gun on the gun truck and let loose devastating bursts of supression fire.
The enemy fired back, desperate. The Marines didn't flinch through the hail of AK fire. A stray round set a loud plink against a metal plate and spun off harmlessly into the soil. One by one the insurgents started going down- and then they broke completely and ran.
He and his Marines personally secured the safety of a dozen wounded Marines and unpinned two dozen others that day.
For acting as a true and heroic Marine, Dakota earned a Medal of Honor. He found out about his honor while working a construction job on the home front a few years later.
The next time you see a construction crew building that new high rise downtown, remember, one of them just might be a US Marine hero.
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #2 - John "Rip" Walter Ripley
Rank: Colonel
Hometown: Radford, VA
A normal Easter morning would have brought to mind chocolate rabbits, eggs, laughing children with baskets of candy, and a fancy service at the local church. The morning fog wouldn't include the ratatattat of machine gun fire or acrid smoke settling on hot Vietnamese jungle air most Easter mornings. John "Rip" Ripley had been hanging beneath a bridge in Dong Ha for nearly three hours under heavy fire, fondly remembering the Easters of his chldhood as sweat and dirt washed over him and the sounds of gunfire refused to cease. It was an exceptional, Marines kind of easter morning.
Easter 1972. Rip had a satchel full of explosive charges ready to place at key points on the bridge. These were no painted eggs for children to find in the yard and the satchel wasn't likely to be mistaken for an Easter basket . The bridge had to be blown- it was a critical artery for the North Vietnamese in their push south against American interests in Saigon. Rip knew that his success could buy the soldiers in the south precious time to train and entrench against the onslought- time South Vietnam desperately needed.
Ripley's Raiders had prepared. They were needed for actions like this. The North Vietnamese had launched an Easter offensive and this bridge was the key.
Rip gritted his teeth as the continual buzzing of angry, lead bees surrounded him. His arms became jelly as he swung his way around the underbelly of the bridge. Sweat poured down his face and stung his eyes. He carefully placed charge after charge, connecting them carefully for proper detonation. After three hours of pain, heat, and hell he scrambled away from the bridge and hit the detonator.
Kaboom.
In a kaleidoscope of light, shrapnel, and shredded metal one of the enemy's supply arteries was severed. It's at this point any comparisons to Easter eggs cease- the fireworks show in Dong Ha on Easter 72' belongs in an Independence Day celebration. It was a good day to be a Marine.
All of that work and planning worked. Rip executed a marvelous, dangerous plan boldly. Every second was a small eternity in which death seemed certain, but somehow Rip succeeded. No one knows if it was luck, the grace of God, or good old Marine grit that let Rip succeed on Easter morning, 72'. The extra years bought for the south and the lives saved by the delayed advance prove John Walter Ripley a true US Marine hero.
The story of Ripley's Raiders and the bridge incident would go on to become required reading at the US Naval Academy. He would go on to serve a full military career with the Marines and later in life acted as president and chancellor of what is now Southern Virginia University. During later tours he earned the "Quad Body"- passing the world's four toughest military training programs: the Army Rangers, Marine reconnaissance, Army Airborne and Britain's Royal Marines. He is also distinguished as being the only Marine officer to be inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame. OORAH!
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
Marine Heroes #1 - Joe "Smokey Joe" Foss
Rank - Brigadier General
Hometown - Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Foss' Flying Circus checked in. All systems go and one by one the Wildcats took to the sky. The enemy was tough, experienced and deadly. They were out there somewhere, high over the Pacific, looking to harm America's fleet and push forward to the west coast. It was a sortie like any other, one mission among hundreds, thousands. But it was a first for Joe. It was October, 1942 and the air at home would be crisp and cool, Joe reflected as he checked his air speed. Guadalcanal, though, was much further south than Sioux Falls, so the air outside, far below, was still warm and acrid with the stench of long combat.
They were sent to relieve another air group which had been engaged over the skies of Guadalcanal for months. VMF-121 was there to see the job done. Joe was ready.
Smokey Joe saw a glint of sunlight shimmering faintly in the distance, enemy planes. Coming in fast. Zeroes, Japan's most deadly aerial weapon, light but maneuverable and notoriously hard to kiss with machine gun fire. The Flying Circus broke formation on his command and began a complex maneuver to flank the foe. The experienced enemy airmen knew what to expect and countered with their own aeronautics.
Soon it was chaos, smoke, and gunfire. The radio chattered back and forth, his wingmen holding their own. Zeroes darted all around and Joe deftly dodged deadly cannon and machine gun fire. The smoking trails of rockets lingered in the air. Static and fuzz, then Joe heard, "there's one on your six!"
Joe did a figure 8 and juked the Zero on his tail. He saw a bullet wiz by his cockpit, mere inches from the glass. He looped behind the Zero and for a split second had the red sun of Japan in his crosshairs.
He fired.
The enemy scattered, but then Joe noticed that his plane was in dire straights. He was shot up bad. He swung around and gave orders to head home. The first combat mission of Guadalcanal and his engine was dying. "Farm boys, my engine's dying!" he shouted into his radio.
Then he saw it. Three of the enemy were closing from a distance on his tail.
He raced back to the airfield. His engines were dead in the air so he sacrificed altitude and jettisoned his fuel to keep ahead of the Zeroes. They were closing, their shots ringing closer. His squadron kept them at bay as land and sea raced closer. His heart was pounding in his chest, another shot and his Wildcat was likely to bust apart. The airfield was close, then closer.
He dropped his wheels and prepared to land, boring ahead at breakneck speed. The enemies on his tail were thankfully occupied with his brothers in arms as he touched down on the tarmac, traveling full speed.
This was to be the first of many such engagements. In the following months Joe racked up 25 more confirmed kills and his Flying Circus 72 in total. He was a terror of the skies and was awarded the Medal of Honor by FDR himself after Guadalcanal was seen through.
He later became a Republican Congressman and then governor of South Dakota and then Commissioner of the American Football League. He hosted ABC's "The American Sprotsman" for three years and was later president of the NRA for two terms. Smokey Joe lead a full and prosperous life that still honors America and the Marine Corps. OORAH!
HeroDecks would like you to check out the Thank You Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to support our veterans, active service members, and their families. Please give them your support at http://thethankyoufoundation.org/ , thank you.
