20 years ago today, Col. Rich Higgins, USMC was taken captive by certain forces in Lebanon.
20 years ago today, his wife, Lt. Col. Robin Higgins, USMC embarked on a journey not of her choosing. She began her tireless efforts to bring her husband home.
It is hard for me to fathom the balancing act required to be a Marine and as well as a Marine wife in this situation. It seems a hard enough thing to do when your husband is home. How she managed to do that while her husband was a known captive is just beyond my comprehension.
For more than four years, Robin Higgins showed the world what duty and honor truly mean. It wasn't just to her husband that she remained always faithful. She remained always faithful to the Marine Corps family.
In her book "Patriot Dreams", Robin talks about her obligation to the Marine Corps and military spouses.
"As a Marine officer and military wife, I also knew that I wanted to be a model for other military wives - women who knew deep in their hearts that there, but for the grace of God, went they"
I had the honor of meeting Robin at a speech she gave for military wives at Quantico. This was in the time period between confirming that her husband was dead and being able to lay him to rest at Quantico National Cemetery. She remained true to her loyalty to the Marine Corps and to the military spouse even at such a horrible time.
Her words that day were honest. Brutally honest. She stated quite simply,"If you don't think you can go through what I have been through, you need to go home and have a very frank discussion with your husband. Their jobs are dangerous."
Prescient.
God Bless you, Lt. Col. Higgins. I am thinking of you and your husband today.
