Ken was absolutely fearless.  Maybe what they say about, "Like father like son," is true.  They had different personalities, but Scott, like his dad had that same fearless streak.  Or maybe they just marched to a different drummer.  Anyway, Scott, my oldest son, was also a Marine.  Is a Marine.  They say, "Once a Marine, always a Marine."  I think that is true.  They have a certain mentality.  If you were in another service, you say you were in the Army, or were in the Navy, or were in the Air Force.  Not so for the Marine Corps.  They say, "I'm a Marine."  And they say that for the rest of their lives.  They aren't "in" something.  They "are."

Scott told me a funny story once, which he can tell better than I can.  Seems that back in1989-90 we were involved in an armed conflict in Panama.  He was in a reconnaissance group, in charge of securing Howard Air Force Base, (which is on the pennisula by the Panama Canal, The Bridge of America), from the Cubans that were in country.  It was an armed confrontation.

Scott was the officer in charge of his group of men, directing his team, getting everyone in place, down and ready,when he noticed that the limbs in the nearby trees were cracking and leaves in the trees were falling.  Odd, because there wasn't any wind or any noise.  He was standing up, glancing around at his men, making sure everyone was down and in place, wondering what was up with the tree limbs breaking, when he got the stuffing knocked out of him.  His Gunny Sergeant tackled him and said, "Sir, they are shooting at you."

Scott said he told the Sergeant, "Don't they know I'm a good guy?"  To which the Gunny replied, "Sir, you're _____, ______ John Wayne."

I guess they thought he was brave, when really, as he tells it, "I didn't have a clue."  That's the thing about Marines, they take care of each other.  In the most direct way possible at the moment.

Marines are the landing forces.  People shoot at them.  Sometimes you get lucky and they miss.