From the Desk of Cpl M.L. Farris
Boot Camp Graduation Photo - Feb/1959
I'm proud to be a Marine. I served from 1958 to 1964
Lifetime Member Third Marine Division Association
USMC Founded November 10, 1775.
I would like to hear from any fellow Marines
I would like to hear from any fellow Marines
Marines do the difficult immediately. The impossible just takes a while longer.
The following article was adapted from the book, MAKE YOUR BED, by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired). If you are serious about being successful in your career -- and life -- his book is a must read. Available at Hachette Book Group
Things The Marine Corps Taught Me
As of this writing, I have been a Marine for over 60 years (once a Marine always a Marine). I served on active duty from 1958 to 1962, and Marine Corps Reserve from 1962-1964 when I received an honorable discharge.
For
me, it all began after I graduated from Lubbock High School in 1958 and
joined the United States Marine Corps. Like my classmate, Mac Davis, I
thought happiness was Lubbock Texas in my rear view mirror. I arrived at
USMCRD (U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot) in San Diego,
California on 29 October 1958. The Parris Island Marines call San Diego
Recruits, "Hollywood Marines." Believe me, Marine Corps boot camp is
nothing like Gomer Pyle USMC. From November through March is the rainy
season in Southern California - a great time of year to go through basic training.
Basic
Recruit training is three months of long torturous runs, unending
calisthenics, days without sleep, learning to march in formation to
Marine Corps standards, field stripping and cleaning your weapon (sometimes blind folded), memorizing the entire Marine Corps Manuel and repeating it word for word on demand, learning military time, a new alphabet, and a whole new language (head, deck, bulkhead, overhead, hatch, port & starboard, make a hole, by your leave, pogie bait, etc. - ask a Marine or Sailor to interpret)... and always wet, cold and miserable.
It
is three months of being constantly harassed by professionally trained
warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them
from ever becoming a Marine. But the training also seeks to find those
recruits who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos,
failure, and hardships. To me, Marine Corps recruit training was a
lifetime of challenges crammed into three months.
So,
here is one of the lessons I learned from Marine Corps recruit
training that hopefully will be of value to you as you move forward in
life. Every morning in recruit training, my Drill Instructors (DI),
who at the time were all combat veterans of the Korean War, would show
up in our Quonset hut, and the first thing they would inspect was our
bed. If it was done right, the corners would be square, the blanket
pulled tight, the pillow centered at the head of the bed, and the extra
blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack.
It
was a simple task, mundane at best. But every morning we were required
to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the
time, particularly in light of the fact that we were aspiring to be real
warriors, tough battle-hardened Marines, but the wisdom of this simple
act has been proven to me many times over.
If
you make your bed right every morning you will have accomplished the
first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and will
encourage you to do another and another. By the end of the day, that one
task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your
bed correctly will also reinforce the fact that little things in life
matter.
If you can't (or won't)
do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And
if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a
well-made bed-- that you made--and a made bed gives you encouragement
that tomorrow will be better.
If you want to be a great success, start off by making your bed.
