Free Republic

Lance Cpl. Hunter “H.D.” Hogan entered the USMC 26 OCT. 2009. He served with the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. The most outstanding custom in the Marine Corps is simply “being a Marine” and all that it implies. Call it morale, call it esprit de corps, call it what you will — it is that pride which sets a United States Marine apart from the other armed services. It is not taught in manuals, yet it is the most impressive lesson a recruit learns in boot camp. It is not tangible, yet it has won fights against...

"The family of Lance Cpl. Hunter Hogan blamed military strategy — and the nation's commander in chief — for continued deaths in Afghanistan on Friday, the day they laid the 21-year-old Marine to rest in York. Steve Hogan, Hunter's father, buried his son in York Friday afternoon and then released a statement that blasted the military's rules of engagement in Afghanistan. Those rules have handcuffed Marines like his son as they try to wage war, he said, adding to the danger they face in some of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan."