00:00Peggy 18
00:28Tajikistan is something else.
00:30It's hard to believe such a place could exist.
00:34There's nothing like it in Cali.
00:35Or anywhere for that matter.
00:40From time to time I see some guys writing letters to their families.
00:44I wonder what they're saying.
00:46I wonder how they put it.
00:48I suspect they downplay the full scope of the danger we face.
00:52Because the truth would be too much for a loved one to handle.
00:56People watch the news so they know the insurgent attacks are still happening.
01:01But they don't know how much the insurgents' efforts have increased.
01:04Or how desperate for blood they've become.
01:07You have to be here to experience that.
01:10People also don't know about the Chinese.
01:12We're not supposed to talk about it.
01:15Officially, we're on the same political page with China.
01:19But it's different than what the TV tells you.
01:22Something isn't right.
01:24Feels like a Wild West showdown brewing.
01:27Except instead of a pair of cold revolvers, we're dealing with 50 cals, tanks and choppers.
01:33And unlike the old gunslinger duels, this won't be over in a few seconds.
01:38Things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better.
01:43It all makes a man think.
01:46A few times, I even sat down to write a letter of my own.
01:50Problem was, I didn't know who I should write to.
01:54I broke up with my girl to join the Corps.
01:56Some of my friends don't really understand why I enlisted.
02:00But after 9-11, they didn't see what I saw.
02:04They didn't feel how I felt.
02:06It wasn't a choice as much as a calling.
02:09I could have had a comfortable life.
02:11I could have closed my eyes to the world around me.
02:14I could have been content with learning about Tajikistan from internet articles and TV pundits.
02:19But that's not who I am.
02:21Because I followed my heart, the sons and daughters of the marines I helped save still have a father,
02:27instead of a few fuzzy memories.
02:28Their wives still have a husband and not a box of personal effects and a folded flag.
02:34If they want to give me a medal for doing my job, so be it.
02:37But I am no hero.
02:39I'm no saint either.
02:41But more than anything else in my life, I am a marine.
02:59I am a marine.
02:59I am a marine.
03:01It is over here.
03:01Who is a marine?
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