Beginning a Final Journey

My fallen brother, Lance Corporal Norberto Mendez Hernandez, is about to start his final journey home. He is being escorted by our recruiter, Staff Sergeant Denver Sugano. I just watched the video of him arriving back on American soil and being taken off of the plane. It was the hardest thing to watch that I have seen in a long time.





Nothing is harder for a Marine than losing a friend and brother. Something that makes it harder is knowing what he is leaving behind. His wife, his son, his daughter. They all have to live on now, remembering how great a man their husband and father was. He is a true hero. He gave his life in service of his country, protecting his family and all he loved. I am proud to have known you, Mendez, and glad I could call you brother.


This is one of the reasons why I hate the enemy. He takes from us the greatest men and women our country has to offer. He hurts us without causing us physical harm. He cuts us deeper than the sharpest knife can. And he does it without showing himself to those he tries to kill. He hides in the houses, the hills, the crowds, and then without giving any warning, he attacks. He attacks, then hides. He is not a true warrior, he is a coward. He is a spineless opponent. He is a vile creature.

How many of our friends and loved ones has he taken from us? I personally have lost friends in this war and know many more who have been injured, physically and mentally. I have a friend recovering from a wound received in-country right now, a friend who has been blown up by IEDs more than three times, a few friends who have been so changed by combat that they no longer can function anywhere but in combat. Men who are so traumatized that they can't be in situations that we feel completely safe in everyday. I know a man who can't have a ceiling fan in his house because it reminds him of helicopters. I know a man who, after hearing a loud noise, can't help but reach for a weapon that he no longer carries and duck to find cover that he doesn't need to hide from an enemy that isn't there. So many people have had their lives changed, turned upside down, because of this war.

Anyways, I need to stop rambling about this. All it's doing is making me angry. Getting back to my original reason for this post, all I can say is welcome home, brother. Job well done and mission accomplished. Guard those streets well, Mendez. Keep them safe for your family and those of us to follow you. Semper Fidelis, Brother.