US Marine Sgt. Eddie Ryan was shot twice in the head while serving in Iraq, sustaining severe brain injuries and was not expected to live. Two years later he is very slowly working to regain the use of his limbs.

On the Mark Levin radio show last night his father asked him to tell everyone what his hopes and dreams for the future were.

His answer:

“Be a damn Marine.”



Just had to share that.

Thank God for men like that.

Once a Marine, always a Marine...

May God continue to bless Sgt Eddie Ryan. Attitude is EVERYTHING! May I never have to find out how stubborn I can truly be when it is necessary!!

Semper Fi !!!

I put the Sgt's reply right up there with such all-time classics as "Nuts!".

Then there's always:

"What ship are you?"
"Submarine S-5"
"What country?"
"United States"
"Where bound?"
"To hell, by compass!"

In my book, Sgt. Ryan ranks right up there with another great Marine.

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time."

Chesty Puller

There are others, here is a story about One Tough Marine ...

There's a good paperback available from Amazon called "When the Poor Boys Dance," based upon a true incident, about a Marine who is left behind on a training mission in the Mojave. On his way walking out, he recalls (hallucinates, actually) about some of the great Marines of the past, present, and future.

http://www.amazon.com/When-Poor-Boys-Dan...6313&sr=1-2

That tragic story reminds me of something I read about a B-24 crew who made an emergency landing in a Mideast desert (Libya?) during WWII. The plane was found sometime in the '60's and the recovery teams found some remains over 100 miles from the crash site. It was unbelievable that some of them had made it that far considering how little they carried. Maybe a lesson for searchers: never underestimate the will to live.