Semper fidelis: Marines meet and grow in D.C.

[thedrifter]

Vietnam veteran finds home anew
Semper fidelis: Marines meet and grow in D.C.


By Melinda Rizzo
Special to The Morning Call

Mike Hill, a Vietnam veteran and Marine Corps corporal who lives in Nockamixon Township, spent two days in the nation's capital recently at a Marine Honors Society event where he mingled with generals and caught a glimpse of the personal side of the White House.

Hill found more than stunning furnishings, art and the privilege of our nation's highest office: He found that the ties that bind military personnel hold firm long beyond boot camp and battlefields.

''We entered the banquet room not knowing anybody and before long were surrounded by other Marines and their wives talking about the event and generally entering into their conversations,'' Hill remarked. ''The best way to describe the entire trip was how it felt like a huge family reunion.''

Hill, who served a year in Vietnam, said highlights of the trip included speaking directly to Gen. James L. Jones, supreme allied commander in Europe, and having private tours of some of the nation's most prized

places.

The Marine Honors Society is made up of 1,200 Marines who are members of the 8th and I Barracks and the Marine Barracks Center House Association in Washington, D.C., according to the society's Web site.

Hill said a pre-World War II group, the China Marines, was also honored.

Hill recalled his Vietnam tour and 52 days spent in the bush. ''It was tough. Every day you'd check yourself and burn the leeches off your body with lit cigarettes.''

During the trip, Hill took an opportunity to remind Jones of a comment he'd made during a chance meeting in 2001. ''You told me, 'Welcome home,' and shook my hand during the parade, and it was the first time since my year of duty in Vietnam I actually felt like I was home.''

According to Hill, Jones replied, ''I meant it then, and I mean it now. Welcome home.''
Copyright ? 2003, The Morning Call

http://www.mcall.com/news/yahoo/all-2marinesep11.story


Sempers,

Roger