Hello, Fred,

    Greetings from central Pennsylvania.  So far a mild Fall, though we have dropped a few degrees just this week.  Leaves are changing and the grass grows much slower and soon not at all.  The good news is that PSU football seems to be back.  The students and fans are, of course, having a great time.  You might even hear the cheering all the way down there at Marine Corp Recruit Depot, Parris Island.
    I must tell you, Fred, that I was delighted to learn from your mother that you have decided to join the Marines and have begun this important journey.  I just wanted to write a bit and let you know how proud we are of you.  
    You are attempting to become a member of one of the greatest organizations in the history of mankind.  I know that the Marine Corp is older than the US, and has served in every major US war and Naval action.  The image of the brave Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most recognizable photographs ever recorded.  Behind the image is an even more impressive story of fierce Marine bravery:  almost seven thousand  Americans died at Iwo Jima, and all but one thousand of them were Marines.

I am not sure what your original motivation was to enlist as a recruit, but these are the ranks to which you aspire.  I suspect some of the motivation was the pride that you have recognized in the other Marines that you have known.  You are to be commended for this observation.  As you continue, though, I believe you will discover more reasons that can only be understood by those that have completed recruit training.  That’s the way life is – only so much can be observed, the rest has to be lived.
    I also know that you have been and will continue to be tested.  I suspect that you might even have occasion to have self-doubt.  This is to be expected.  What I find more important, and more revealing, is how great people such as the US Marines find a way to work through any and every obstacle, especially those self imposed. And Fred, whether you realize it or not, setting your sites on membership in the US Marines is setting them extremely high – but at the same time, well within your reach!
    Please remember, Fred, that those of us who know you, and have seen what you have already accomplished, have no doubt – no doubt whatsoever – that you will be tested and find yourself ready!
    God be with you and your unit, Fred.  Work together to find that greatness that you will need to reach this goal, and that is inside each of you.

Sincerely, Ed Glantz

Photo Credits

Top:  2008 PSU “White Out” vs. Illinois (Penn State Department of Public Information)
Bottom:  Iwo Jima Memorial, Washington DC (www.senate.gov/visiting/common/image/Iwo-Jima.htm)