My Family’s Folktale

Collin was born and raised just on the other side of the Cape Fear River in Leland NC, Re is a Marine who served
with the ACE (Air Combat Element) at MALS-14 (Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron) in Cherry Point NC, Re was a 6414, which is an Aviation Electronics Technician, specializing in Communication/Navigation Equipment for any and all aircraft, and he is currently a full-time student working on his fourth semester here at CFCC.

Ever since I can remember my grandfather told me until the day that he passed that he was in the United States Army. Re told me he served in World War II and was very lucky to make it back home alive and in one piece, which is more than he could say about over half of his friends that he served with.

My grandfather told me many stories about the war and what all he endured while he was there. Every time my grandfather was getting ready to tell his stories he would first grab a strong drink and all the kids (my siblings and cousins) would all gather around sitting cross-legged on the floor, while I made sure I always had a seat up front, making sure to pay attention to every word that was spoken.

As years went by and after my family moved away in attempts to seek better paying jobs for a better way of living, my father most days after he got off work would come home and tell us little white lies about when he was in the Army (my father was never in the Army). But his stories always made us laugh because they would be so overly dramatic or just outright ridiculous.
I can remember one of the stories my father would tell us (my brother and I).

Re would tell us how he met our mother while he was in the Army, how she was a nurse, and he got shot in the eye and she bandaged him up. My father was literally shot in the face and lost his left eyeball but not while he was in the Army, nor was my mother a nurse at any point in time throughout her life.

So, some of his stories, while we were children, seemed somewhat believable. Although my father knew his stories didn’t amount in comparison to his father’s stories, his trying to make us happy through little white lies was more than enough to send me on my own journey into the United States military. So, when my children are a little older, I’ll be able to tell them about all the things I did while I was in the United States Marine Corps.