- Oct 9, 1999
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Yesterday I went down to the Ambler Theater to attend a talk by Eric Greitens that was sponsored by the Travis Manion Foundation.
If you care at all, you may have some questions. I will now point you to some answers.
Who is Travis Manion?
He talked about how his Navy Seal class started with 220 students, but that only 21 lasted through to graduation.
He said those who survived were not necessarily the best athletes at all, but were those who cared most about helping the guy next to them survive, who were able to come out of themselves and care about something larger.
He said he saw this same thing in the refugee camps in Bosnia and Rwanda, where those most likely to prosper were those who had to get up each morning and care for their kids and their grandkids, even after they had lost every earthly possession they'd had, and many family and friends.
It reminded me of reading about American Merchant Mariners who survived the icy waters of the North Atlantic during WWll, and how those most likely to survive weren't the most fit or the strongest, but were those married men whose will to survive was for their wives and children.
He talked about how he learned during his Navy Seals training about the true meaning of courage . . . that it was not just physical courage in a time of danger, but that it also encompassed the personal fortitude to endure.
Travis Manion's sister spoke briefly before Eric Greitens did, and she told the story behind "If not me, then who?"
Before Travis had left for his second tour of Iraq, the one that got him killed trying to rescue his fellow Marines, he was at an Eagles game and going down some stairs with his brother-in-law.
His B-I-L joked that he should push Travis down the stairs so that he'd fracture his ankle and wouldn't have to go. Travis turned to him and simply said, "If not me, then who?"
She also told another story from his childhood in Doylestown. There aren't that many black folk here now, and there were almost none then, but one was a schoolmate of the then ten year old Travis.
They were in an ice cream shop together, and his black friend kept trying to order, but the clerk kept ignoring him. So Travis went up and ordered a cone, and the clerk promptly served him. Travis then handed the cone to his buddy, and told the clerk they would never be back in his shop again.
Travis never told his family this story. They only found out after Travis's death, when that now grown kid traveled a long distance to their house to tell them of it.
Men like Travis Manion and Eric Greitens hold the TRUE warrior spirit in their hearts. They make me damn proud of the very best of the Corps!
Semper Fi.
If you care at all, you may have some questions. I will now point you to some answers.
Who is Travis Manion?
What is the Travis Manion Foundation?
Ok, so who is Eric Greitens?
His talk was honest, low-key, non-self-promoting, and deeply stirring to me.
He talked about how his Navy Seal class started with 220 students, but that only 21 lasted through to graduation.
He said those who survived were not necessarily the best athletes at all, but were those who cared most about helping the guy next to them survive, who were able to come out of themselves and care about something larger.
He said he saw this same thing in the refugee camps in Bosnia and Rwanda, where those most likely to prosper were those who had to get up each morning and care for their kids and their grandkids, even after they had lost every earthly possession they'd had, and many family and friends.
It reminded me of reading about American Merchant Mariners who survived the icy waters of the North Atlantic during WWll, and how those most likely to survive weren't the most fit or the strongest, but were those married men whose will to survive was for their wives and children.
He talked about how he learned during his Navy Seals training about the true meaning of courage . . . that it was not just physical courage in a time of danger, but that it also encompassed the personal fortitude to endure.
Travis Manion's sister spoke briefly before Eric Greitens did, and she told the story behind "If not me, then who?"
Before Travis had left for his second tour of Iraq, the one that got him killed trying to rescue his fellow Marines, he was at an Eagles game and going down some stairs with his brother-in-law.
His B-I-L joked that he should push Travis down the stairs so that he'd fracture his ankle and wouldn't have to go. Travis turned to him and simply said, "If not me, then who?"
She also told another story from his childhood in Doylestown. There aren't that many black folk here now, and there were almost none then, but one was a schoolmate of the then ten year old Travis.
They were in an ice cream shop together, and his black friend kept trying to order, but the clerk kept ignoring him. So Travis went up and ordered a cone, and the clerk promptly served him. Travis then handed the cone to his buddy, and told the clerk they would never be back in his shop again.
Travis never told his family this story. They only found out after Travis's death, when that now grown kid traveled a long distance to their house to tell them of it.
Men like Travis Manion and Eric Greitens hold the TRUE warrior spirit in their hearts. They make me damn proud of the very best of the Corps!
Semper Fi.
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