Still Faithful

The Marine Corps motto Semper Fidelis still echoes through my head after all of these years. It s the Latin phrase for always faithful , and totally appropriate to the lifelong brotherhood that is the United States Marine Corps. It was just over fifty-eight years ago that Semper Fi and all things Marine were etched permanently into my being, my character, and my memory. And when my DI s singsong cadence isn t bouncing around in my brain, my bedroom is shaking with the roar of F-8U Crusaders screaming overhead. I m still at El Toro. I m still a Marine. I ll always be a Marine.