Gathering Places
Gathering Places
How many will come back
in the ugly, old, white bus?It was a surreal moment, watching our boys -- men now -- file onto that ugly, old, white bus. I felt as though I were back in time or in some movie as I watched my nephew file onto the bus with his gun hanging on his shoulder, heading off to war. The moment they walked up the bus steps and through the door they were instantly changed from boys to men.
Sure, they were already men in their own minds; after all, they are Marines, and they have been training for this possibility. A few of them have been there before and have that knowing look on their smiling, apprehensive faces. Some have families with wives and children crying and calling their names as they board that ugly, old, white bus. But for all of us watching -- all of the moms and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters and cousins, they are our boys who, just the day before, were playing and joking and riding their skateboards. Now, as they step onto that bus, they have traded in their skateboards for guns and our boys have become men.
We watch and wave as they drive off base. There is just silence on base. No fanfare, no parade to see then off. No honking or cheering from the other Marines stationed there. No signs, no saluting from the M.P.s as they pass by the guardhouse, no media coverage with photos and personal stories being told. Nothing. That ugly, old, white bus is like a ghost ship reincarnated from previous wars to bear our Marines away.
HESSER FAMILY PHOTO
Reservists left Kaneohe Marine Corps Base on Sunday and headed across the H-3 on their way to the Persian Gulf.
I become transfixed by these ghost ships. I can't believe they still have these ancient machines around to take our soldiers away to war. It seems as though they should go off to protect our country and our freedom from terror in a much grander way. It should be like the heroes in the movies, or they should all step into air-conditioned limos and be escorted off by important people with sirens blaring and flags flying from their cars, or something. Anything but that ugly, old, white bus.
No one driving next to that old bus on the freeway has any idea who is on that bus or where they are going, and some may not care. To others, it is just a normal Sunday and they have places to go, errands to run, church to get to on time, and all their own wonderful, stress-filled lives to attend to. Thank God for our stress-filled lives here in America. Thank God we can go on living our stress-filled lives while other families' boys and girls file onto an ugly, old, white bus to become men and women in times of war.
No one passing by the bus may know who these men are or the mission they are on. But the people in the convoy of family cars following closely behind know exactly who these heroes are. They are Marine Corps Force Recon Reservists and they are our men who will do their job to protect America and her freedom, and who (God willing) will come home and step onto an old, white bus and drive back to base. There the families will be waiting -- watching as our boys step off that beautiful, old, white bus and back into our arms.
*** Many thanks go out to our Fourth Force Marine Corps Reservists and their families. These reservists shipped out Sunday to the Persian Gulf from Kaneohe Marine Corps Base.
Meg Hesser lives in Honolulu.
