Memorial Day 2005, British Black Watch & US Marine 5.26.05 Memorial Service, Camp Pendleton, CA by USAI went San Diego for work and was privileged enough to tour the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton just a little ways north up the coast from San Diego. 122,000 acres of prime coastline real estate that private developers have been practically murdering each other over trying to get ahold of.

It was gorgeous. The entire division was prepping to move out to Iraq and many of them had already gone. We toured Fire and Rescue, VIP protection training, the mess hall (which had surprisingly good food), the amphibious tank unit, and finally the new memorial to fallen soldiers from the division who had died in Iraq. It was very interesting but that’s not what this post is about.

When we got to the amphibious tank units, there were three weapons laid out on the table, a .50 caliber machine gun, a grenade launcher and a mounted tank gun. Once the Gunnery Sergeant finished talking about how the unit and the machinery worked, we were free to climb on the tanks, hop in the driver seats and play with the guns.

Well, play is exactly what we did. I was the designated photographer so I was snapping shots. Well, I had my work hat on so I was thinking about getting hilarious team building shots. So, when people began pointing the guns at each other, I was more than happy to snap the pics. I even got one shot of a guy holding the .50 cal and another guy had the barrel in his mouth. These were great shots but then I noticed the Marines standing back with looks of disgust on some of their faces. And then it hit me.

Going hunting with my father when I was twelve. I had a stainless steel 12 gauge. My dad is now a retired Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps but at the time was an active Gunny. He told me, the first time I secured the weapon, “Never point a gun at someone you don’t intend to kill.” I saw the error in eleventh commandment on the faces of the Marines standing around.

But it wasn’t just a safety issue. It was a Private Ryan moment also. Remember the scene in Private Ryan when Hanks’s unit is going through the dog tags and laughing at the names while the other unit (from where the names came from) is walking by looking at them with disgust. These firearms we were so cavalierly fooling around with, in our utter and complete civilian idiocy, would very soon be the guard each of these Marines had between life and death in a hostile land while I will be sitting back at home playing with my children and pushing spreadsheets around in cyberspace.

Was I cheapening their sacrifice? Maybe I was reading too much into the moment but I still feel like a bit of a shitheel.

If any of the Marines from Camp Pendleton read this post–know that I deeply appreciate the sacrifice you have chosen to make on behalf of my family, my neighbors and me. I had a great time touring the base with my coworkers who meant just as well as I did. We’re all good people and I’m sure I speak for them all when I share my appreciation for what you do for us on a daily basis.

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