This photo, taken in early May 1983, shows two Marines from the 22nd MAU welcoming three newly arrived Marines—full gear and all—who were about to begin their tour in Beirut. Second from the left is me, Cpl. Mike Zawacki. Seeing this picture brings back countless memories, feelings, and emotions.

The smiling Marine on the far right is my brother from 8th Comm Bn., 2nd FSSG—Cpl. Robinson. After 25 years in the Corps, he passed away from cancer in 2008.

I came across this photo for the first time just a couple of days after returning from Arlington on March 23, where a small group of us witnessed another changing of the guard. Before our beloved Colonel Geraghty’s service, a few of us old salts had the chance to share the Beirut story with a young Lance Corporal and Corporal. Another changing of the guard.

The wind at Arlington that day was powerful—so strong that every flag snapped and popped with a kind of authority, as if declaring, “Hear us. We are right here, right now.”

Now, with 250 years of Marines intertwined with 250 years of America, the opening of the Carolina Museum of the Marine feels like yet another changing of the guard.

Years ago, I read a quote from a Rabbi that has stayed with me ever since:
“Each day will have in it the spirit of the tomb or the spirit of the resurrection. Deliberately choose the one and reject the other.”