"Company, attention! Rock of The Marne Sir."
"Carry on."
"Rock of The Marne Sir!" We all yelled as our company commander walked by our platoon as we were getting ready to do PT. "Rock of the Marne," is our credence or greeting here in Ft. Benning Georgia while in basic training. We represent the 3rd Infantry Division in Ft. Stewart Georgia, which is a few hours away. If I remember correctly, the saying came from the defense set up by the 3rd Division at "The Marne River." This occurred during a change in the tide of "World War I," while they were serving in France. They essentially changed the course of the war, and I am proud to be a part of their great legacy! My name is Rick Myers, but everyone calls me Ricky, or Myers here. I am a Private in the United States Army. I left for the Military when I was 18 years old, (I am currently 19) so right out of high school. I barely made it through my senior year and got involved with the wrong crowd. I got into trouble with the law because of it. Thankfully, I only received misdemeanor charges that were all dismissed.
Thanks to my recruiter telling the judge that I recently enlisted in the Army, which was enough to show that I was serious about making a change. The amazing Rachel Dawson, who is the love of my life, is patiently waiting on the other side for me after I graduate bootcamp and AIT (Advanced Individual Training). Hopefully, I get to see her before I go to AIT, as she may not be able to make it to family day after graduation. She is one of the main reasons why I enlisted, as I wanted to make a better life for us and our future family. She is my high school sweetheart and a part of my destiny. My kindred spirit, and the Yin to my Yang... Yep, That's Rachel! We don't have phone privileges here, but we have been communicating through letters via first class mail. Everyone seems to be doing well back home in the great state of Virginia.
Now I was a star athlete in high school and Prom King, so I was pretty popular in school. Being the starting quarterback of the JV and Varsity football teams, it was easy for me to get caught up in the wrong things. Drugs, alcohol, bullying, sleeping around, but then I met Rachel, and that all changed. She helped me stay focused on what really mattered, my future. And though I was offered a full ride scholarship to Virginia Tech, I decided to go into the military for a chance to serve my Country. My MOS (Military, Occupational, Specialty) is an 11B, or 11 Bravo infantrymen. Rachel fussed me out for choosing it, but I wanted to experience what it was like to be a soldier who fights for our freedom!
After running like derby horses for an hour, we made it back from PT. I can easily run 2 miles in 12 minutes, but I’m working with my battle buddy Clifton Jones to get him ready for our PT test coming up. We also have our field exercise which is the last thing we need to complete before we graduate. Not sure what the details are surrounding it, but we should know more the day of.
"Hey Cliff, how you feeling today man?"
"Man, I feel like my heart is about to pop out of my chest, slap me in the face, and say man... Why are you doing this to us!" He said while we both started cracking up. "Yeah I hear you man, this PT is pretty rigorous, and you being a lineman when you played football, doesn't help that much."
"Who you telling... Our coaches set us up for failure man... Instead of saying eat fatty foods and keep your weight up, they should have said pick up this lettuce wrap and diet cucumber water to stay fit! You know, every now and again... All those double mega cheeseburgers with a diet soda, is not worth all the hassle. I stay having the meat sweats dude!"
"You're a fool Cliff," I said as we were still laughing out loud. "Let's go get some chow, we got a long day ahead of us man."
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Cliff said as we made our way to the chow hall.
So whether the setting is high school, a 9 to 5 job, or even basic training, there’s always a hotshot that wants to show everyone up. Julian Rodgers is that guy! He's in Charlie Company and they think they’re big stuff! We were cool at first, but then he set me up to get smoked by one of the Drill Sergeants. Julian pushed the person in front of me, and they push me because of it. Of course I pushed back, and we both had to do mountain climbers and flutter kicks until we reached muscle failure. From that day, I've been looking for a way to get him back. And blanket parties are a real thing, not just something you see in the movies. This was something I thought about doing, but he has an entourage which wouldn't let that happen.
"Hey, how are you unworthy degenerates doing today?" Julian said as he made his grand entrance into the chow hall. "Shut up Julian!" One of the other soldier's said. "Yeah sit down somewhere!" Said another soldier. Julian just loved to be the center of attention. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction that day. "Whatever! You know you guys suck and can't hang with the best right? Oh yeah, if you haven't heard, if any of you losers fall out of the final road march to the field site, you will lose your family day and won't graduate... So you best step your game up!" He said as he went to sit down with his cronies.
Was this true? Would I lose my family day if I fell out of the road march? I did hear from one of the other classes that it was extremely far, and even the most athletic or fit soldiers fell out... I can't worry about that now, I have to see the love of my life, so I’ll make it no matter what!
The day of the field exercise was here. Everyone from my company/platoon was ready for action! My buddy Cliff even passed his PT test with flying colors! (He did his 2-mile run in 14 minutes). Our Drill Sergeant finally revealed, we would be marching roughly 24 miles to and from the field site. We've done a few mock road marches, 12 miles at least, but not 24 miles with 40 pounds of equipment in our rucksack... That's crazy! I was a little worried at that moment... I did receive a letter from my folks saying they would be at graduation, but my heartbeat, Rachel, said she may not be there due to work. Either way, I have to believe she will be there, and use the thought of her as motivation!
Our company was broken up into different groups, one on each side of the road. There was also an ambulance in the middle of the road, trailing behind us. This was just in case one of us fell out or needed medical attention. As we were making our way towards the field site, I put my earplugs in to help tune out the noise surrounding us. We also took turns singing cadence and joked about our next assignment after bootcamp.
Roughly 10 miles into the road march, my legs started to cramp up and I started to fall back in the ranks. We stopped every so often to drink water and rest, but the weight of the rucksack and the pace in which we were moving, started to take its toll. "Don't fall out Private! If you do, you will lose your family day!" My Drill Sergeant yelled. Now I don't know if he was serious or not, but I wasn't going to take that chance. I thought about my love Rachel, I thought about seeing my family, I thought about General Joseph Dickman, and 38th Infantry Regiment leader, Colonel Ulysses McAlexander. They wouldn't give up the fight, and they sacrificed so much... I have to keep going! I am a warrior, I am a soldier and I shall remain!
As I started to climb back up into the ranks, I noticed that Julian was starting to fall back as well. Now I could be a jerk and let him miss out on family day, but it's not about me at this point. It's about our code of honor and never leaving a battle buddy behind. "Hey man, you're going make it!" I said as his head dropped down towards the ground. "I don't know Myers, this is harder than I expected. We still have miles and miles left to get to the site. There’s no way I’m going to make it!" He said with defeat in his voice. "You can do it! Just put your earplugs in, think about the latest song or your girl back home. Let that be your motivation! I’ll be your pace setter, just keep up!"
"Dude your nuts! I set you up and you're still trying to help me? Why?"
"Well for one, I'm not petty like you, and for two, we’re wearing this uniform that represents something bigger than any petty beef we could have." As he laughed and agreed with what I said, we both started to move up in the ranks. Before we knew it, we were at the field site! And though we could barely stand up straight, due to our legs cramping violently, we cried tears of joy once we crossed the finish line! We also celebrated because we would get to see our loved ones on family day!
After we completed our combat exercises, we held a preliminary graduation ceremony at a river site that symbolized the battle at "The Marne River." I couldn't help but shed more tears when they played "God Bless the U.S.A." A song by Lee Greenwood. Not everyone in our company or battalion made it, but thankfully myself, Julian and my buddy Cliff did! He actually outpaced us for the majority of the march! We will forever be changed by this experience… It also showed us that we could accomplish anything we put our hearts and minds to do.
It was finally family day! I saw my mom, dad, and brother in the crowd. We had to be at attention and stoned faced the whole time, but I did see them! I was also scanning the crowd for Rachel but didn't see her anywhere. After the ceremony, my parents and brother came up to me and gave me a big hug. They all shed tears and were overwhelmed with how proud they were in that moment. Needless to say, I cried again but blamed it on the dust in the field. "Hey stranger, long time now see." Wait, I know that voice and that sarcasm... My Rachel, my angel, my rock, my heart, she made it! I embraced her, lifted her off the ground, and spun her around like they do in those cheesy romantic movies you see. I guess they weren’t lying about that either… But I couldn't be happier in that moment! Oh, and I planned on proposing to her at graduation, hence my concern when she said she may not make it. My brother knew about it and had the ring. She said yes by the way!
But I wasn't supposed to be here according to my teachers, and numerous haters I had in high school... I was supposed to be somewhere messing up my life, or worse... However, I’m glad and fortunate that I was able to change the narrative and accomplish more than I could ever dreamed of! I know the journey is far from over, but the faith that I have, and strength of my heart, Rachel, is enough to keep me marching on! “Rock of the Marne Sir!”