About: Read This First!

Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1997, I went to Marine Corps Boot Camp in Parris Island South Carolina. Prior to going, I decided that I would keep a journal of my experiences there. I was pretty sure this wasn’t allowed and that I might get in trouble for doing it. I never did, though I find it unlikely that my Drill Instructors never knew I was doing it.

As with any Marine I have ever met, Boot Camp was one of the most significant experiences I’ve ever had in my life. If you ever wonder if this is the case for Marines you know, ask them a question about boot camp and see how long it takes them to stop talking about it. Better yet, hang out with a couple of Marines and see how long it takes for the conversation to shift (often permanently) to sharing stories from boot camp.

 Because of the significant impact that boot camp had on my life, I thought it would be an interesting project to go back and reflect on my experiences there. That is what this blog is dedicated to. I have decided to post my journal entries from twenty years ago with commentary. Each entry will be posted on the twenty-year anniversary of the date it was written, so you can follow along in “real time” as I go through boot camp.

 Before I begin though, I thought I’d include a few notes. First, regarding accuracy: I don’t really care about it. These posts are more about my interpretation of the events twenty years later than about the true history. To that end, I am intentionally not researching details. That will undoubtedly mean some inaccuracies. However, it will also show (I hope) just how much has stayed with me in the twenty years since. Second: in order to protect the anonymity of the others involved in this story, I have decided to use only the first letter of each person’s names, plus an underscore for the additional letters. For example, you will soon read about my Drill Instructors: SSgt. B____, Sgt. H__, Sgt. M_____, and Sgt. V__________. It makes clear who each person is, while saving me the trouble of obtaining permission to write about them.

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