I've debriefed my news directors on the Parris Island trip. I've briefed them on the stories that will air as part of the series. I followed up with Sgt. John Jackson at a recruiting sub-station and I did a classroom follow-up with one of the teachers.
Now its time to share all of this with Cincinnati on Fox19 and fox19.com ... I have four feature stories from the adventure and those features will air as follows:
March 23 2200 hrs (10 p.m. newscast)
Parris Island the experience
Journey of a Recruit you'll see two Recruits from Cincinnati area during their training
March 25 2200 hrs (10 p.m. newscast)
Yes Ma'am female Marines
Teaching Teachers the adventure of the educator's workshop, teachers from KY and OH
If you do not live in Fox 19's coverage area, the stories should be to the web site by 2300 hours on the day the story is set to air. Also, there will be a feature on the Marines that will air in Louisville on Fox19's Raycom Media sister-station, WAVE. That will air in April TBA.
Now that business is taken care of, I have to say THANK YOU to all the Marines who answered all my questions, taught me so much, helped carry my gear, drove me around, shot my stand-ups for me, made extra trips to the PX for diet coke, gatorade, tissues and allergy medicine!! Thanks so much, Major Quinn, M/Sgt. Deskins, Sgt. Jackson, Cpl. Holmes, Sgt. Cotton and Lt. Reynolds.
Now that I'm home, lets go over the most asked questions by my co-workers, friends and family.
Q. Did you see any cute Marines?
A. Does a leopard have spots? Isn't that a given?
Q. When will this air?
A. See above.
Q. Will you make me a copy?
A. If you would like a DVD of anything that airs on Fox 19 call these people...the Media Library 513-751-1411
Q. So did they talk you into joining?
A. Standby.
Q. What did you learn?
A. I learned a lot about the Marine Corps and even more about myself.
Despite my initial refusal, I like being called Ma'am now. Actually, take note, I expect it. Ma'am is one of those words I use, but rarely ever hear. On the second night of the trip, I asked several of the Marines to just call me Miss, because Ma'am makes me feel old. They thought it was funny. I told them that to me, a Ma'am was older than me or married. A Miss is unmarried and a younger woman. We even asked a waitress which she liked and she agreed with me. My efforts didn't work, they called me Ma'am and Miss McCann (not Ms. McCann so that was good.) I should note all but two Marines in my escort were younger than me, so even based on on my theory, I am a Ma'am! After seeing the fierce women of Parris Island, they are all Ma'ams, so getting the same greeting and respect as those ladies is an honor.
Something else I learned, before this trip if someone would have told me I'm not as patriotic as I could be, or I didn't think about the military enough, I wouldn't have believed them. After all, I'm in the American Legion Auxiliary, I volunteer with the Girls State program, volunteer at the VA Medical Center and pray for Veterans and active-military in every prayer. But now I know there is more I can do. I can offer more smiles and thank yous when I see the uniform. I can bring the military into my everyday life and not let it get lost in the day-to-day shuffle.
In my first blog I told you one of my motivators to take the trip was selfish. I wanted to learn more about the Marine Corps because one of my dearest friends, Capt. Brad Whited, is a Marine. We've been friends for more than a decade, since my freshman year of college. I never thought about this until writing this blog, our country has been at war nearly the entire time we've known each other. Brad has been at war. He's been a world away. First in Iraq and now in Afghanistan.While reading about the War and doing stories on the home front, one Marine stays on my mind, where he is, is he safe, did he know the Marine or soldier who has been hurt or worse? How is he dealing with war, with death, with the distance? What will life be like when he comes home?
My trip to Parris Island and spending a week with the Marines did give me insight to his life, but it also made me realize I will never really know how he feels. I'm not meant to know what it is like. We civilians aren't the ones making that sacrifice. Only an elite few will ever understand. Whether its Brad, your loved-one, or any of the Marines I met, only those Patriots, those Warriors, know what it is like.
I can go through the actions, video all they do, learn their protocol and vocabulary. But no one can recreate the feeling or the connection that I observed. Their honor, pride, confidence and compassion... I only tried to capture it. Being a Marine is a bond that we are not a part of, a bond that doesn't exist if you aren't part of their fraternity. Reporters are really good at taking information or situation and making you feel like you are a part of it. You will feel that when you watch these stories, but something will be missing. That connection that is only shared between Marines.
We'll never know what it is like, but what we can do is support and respect their sacrifices and their unity.... and admire their honor, courage and commitment.
Semper Fi.
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