Paper written by Nathanael as to why he joined the military

I was cleaning out Nathanael's bedroom, getting rid of clothes and shoes that don't fit anyone anymore. He had a notebook on his desk that looked like an english notebook and I was getting ready to toss it out since he doesn't need school stuff anymore when I noticed this paper. I read it and obviously knew that I had to keep it. It brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to share it with you. Hopefully he doesn't mind. But since he is not here, and he is in boot camp on the start of this journey, he has no vote, so here it is:


A moment that has changed my life was not a big or terrible accident, injury or event; neither was it having a friend that was there for me when I needed on most, though that would have been nice. Instead it is only a few hours spent by myself in silence. Awhile back I was able to travel to Hawaii and while there, visited a national cemetery known as the Punch Bowl, and I also visited Pearl Harbor. On this trip, the things I saw and the things I thought would make a much greater impact on my life than any had ever before. While at the Punch Bowl I was struck by the sheer numbers of the graves of the men who fought and died for our freedom we enjoy today. Thousands and thousands of graves and memorials, not just there, but in cemeteries across the nation. Some say that those graves and those statues erected in their honor is all that is left of all those men, but I say that is not all; the very freedom we all enjoy is a testament of their lives and their sacrifices. There on top of a hill stood a memorial building for our fallen soldiers and inside, a simple message to honor those warriors. The exact wording I can't recall, but there it stated that every one of the men lying in those graves at that place gave all of their tomorrows for our today. Then at Pearl Harbor I stood where bombs had been dropped all those years ago. I stood on the memorial built over the sunken Arizona, and read the names of those men slain that December day. I stood in silence taking it all in and could almost hear those soldiers and sailors speaking to me. Not in a dark or ominous voice, but a happy one. Still they said, "this is where we fought, where we died, and now it is where our bodies still lie. We died fighting to protect freedom against oppression and that freedom you enjoy. What will you do with it now?" Those few hours became many more sleepless nights with that last question hanging in my ears. Many days I spent thinking of the answer to that question and many things I have chosen to do. Without that experience I doubt I could have made the decision to fall in with their ranks as a fellow defender of freedom and join the United States Marine Corps, devoting possibly the rest of my life to service to God and my country. I remember that trip still and though a whole week was spent in that paradise known as Hawaii, that day at Pearl Harbor and the Punch Bowl stand out in my mind the most. That experience has shaped many of my actions since and changed the entire direction of my life. It changed me from dreams of owning my own small business, as many still think is the wiser, to being a warrior on the front lines. Many people question my decision, no knowing my experience, asking how I can so simply just sign away my life, but to them I cannot explain the powerful experience of that day, nor do I wish to. The choice was mine, the message to me, and though it will be a difficult path, I know why I must do these things I have chosen to do. So if this choice has led me to an early death; don't mourn my decision, I did what needed to be done and lived without regret, rejoice knowing that I knew the joy of selfless service to others and died a good and happy man.