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Descendents of Giants
W. Thomas Smith Jr. | June 09, 2006
them from reenlisting at record rates."

Bear or adds, more than 95 percent of new Marines are high school graduates, and "none are draftees or were even threatened by a draft."

Why do they join? Because aside from an unquenchable sense of duty and patriotism, becoming a Marine still "represents the pinnacle of manhood, the zenith of what every boy should aspire to become," says retired Marine Col. John W. Ripley -- who single-handedly blew up the Dong Ha bridge in Vietnam, thus blunting a massive North Vietnamese offensive in 1972. "God grant that they -- and we -- never change.

This article first appeared at NavySEALs.com

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Copyright 2012 W. Thomas Smith Jr.. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.

  
About W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Military analyst W. Thomas Smith Jr. has written six books and penned pieces for a variety of publications including USA TODAY, George, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, The New York Post, The Washington Times, The (UK) Guardian, and The Scripps Howard News Service. He is a columnist for HUMAN EVENTS and Townhall.com, and a former adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina's School of Journalism.

A former Marine Corps infantry leader and parachutist, Smith has written extensively about military/defense issues. He has covered conflict from the Balkans to the Middle East.

Visit Smith online at uswriter.com.


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