These officers (white hats) and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) are part of the graduating ceremonies of Alpha Company, First Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Swords are for ceremonial purposes only and are part of the 234-year history of the United States Marine Corps. Officer swords have ivory-handles, NCO swords have leather-handles. The NCOs in this picture are Drill Instructors (DI). They are directly responsible to make Marines out of the recruits in 13 weeks of boot camp. It is during these intial 13 weeks that the recruits learn that once a Marine, always a Marine and adhere to the credo Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful). I went to see this graduation on the suggestion of a retired Marine friend of mine. I have a special affinity with the Marines-they guarded and protected us at DaNang AB, Vietnam in 1966-67. My friend, and I feel priviledge to call him that, is a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant with 31 years of active duty service, 27 years of which in 'Force Recon'. When I met him I didn't even know what 'Force Recon' was. He served three tours in Southeast Asia and was shot down and wounded three times. He was at Khe San while it was under siege (71 days). I saw on a a recent TV program on the Military Channel that during those 71 days B-52s dropped 100,000 tons of bombs, and another 150,000 tons of artillery shells were used. That is TONS, not pounds. Much of what he did during his Force Recon days he can't and wont talk about, but it makes me realize how fortunate I was. Our once a week breakfast is something we look forward to. It seems to have a curative effect for him. What I also found out over the last couple of years is that he was in a Naval Hospital in San Diego a few years ago and had his thyroid radiated out (he things it was damaged by exposure to Agent Orange). He also has Malaria. When I asked him if it bothers him his answer was 'Only when I have the flu'. What he also doesn't talk about other than the VA has been good to him is that he has at least four physicals a year and has psychological counceling. It is primarily through these talks with him that I really appreciate the Marines. There haven't really been many places on this Earth where he hasn't been and this upload is dedicated to him. Watching this graduation ceremony, the marching, the 234-year history, and the Marine Band, gave me the chills. This picture was taken on 17 April 2009. Thank you for viewing and commenting, Sig...