Posted on 04/02/2003 12:35:08 PM PST by robjna
Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine battalion, was talking with 4 young marines near his foxhole this morning live on CNN.
He had been telling the story of how well the marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another. He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use his video phone to call home.
The 19 year old marine next to him asked Martin if he would allow his platoon sergeant to use his call to call his pregnant wife back home whom he had not been able to talk to in three months. A stunned Savidge who was visibly moved by the request nodded his head and the young marine ran off to get the sergeant. Savidge recovered after a few seconds and turned back to the three young marines still sitting with him and asked which one of them would like to call home first,
the marine closest to him responded with out a moments hesitation " Sir, if it's all the same to you we would like to call the parents of a buddy of ours, Lance Cpl Brian Buesing of Cedar Key, Florida who was killed on 3-23-03 near Nasiriya to see how they are doing".
At that Martin Savidge totally broke down and was unable to speak. All he could get out before signing off was, "Where do they get young men like this?"
Although not exactly recorded in history, one story stands out.
Sometime shortly after the Beirut bombing in 1983, then–Commandant of the Marine Corps General Paul X. Kelley was visiting a wounded Marine in the hospital. The lad shook the Commandant's hand and then scribbled the words "Semper Fi" on a piece of paper. It was the Marine's way of saying "Semper Fidelis." Gen Kelley became emotional and said, "Lord, where do we get such men?" The press picked up on it.
After that the term "Semper Fi" was given new life and a new meaning among Marines. However, for older Marines, the term had a slightly different meaning. Today while one understands "Semper Fi" to be a Marine greeting, in the pas. "Semper Fi, Mac" meant "I got mine, how you doing?"
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