Once a Marine, Always a Marine – Semper Fi

My Dad passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of October 21, 2012. It was a Sunday.

At the age of 17, he joined the United States Marine Corp in June of 1941, after finishing boot camp in San Diego, he was stationed at Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii sometime in August of 1941. On December 7th, 1941 – William E. Harrer survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor where 2,403 Americans lost their life. He received an honorable discharge from the Marines on October 17, 1945.

My Dad was a humble man; he didn't talk a lot about World War II or serving our country at Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Guam. I was almost 40 before be really shared his wartime experiences with his family. We planned a family reunion in Hawaii and Dad took our families, including his 10 grandchildren to the joint base Pearl Harbor-Hickam field and gave us a tour while he relived the ordeal in vivid detail with his family. For the first time we learned he had kept a piece of shrapnel which nearly took his life that day.

Dad loved the Marines. He was proud to be one of the “Few Good Men”.

When the active Marine unit in Bakersfield, California got word of my Dad’s passing, they assembled a twelve-man honor guard and helped us close a truly beautiful memorial service with a full military funeral. Two Marines lifted his flag from the draped coffin as if it was floating in air, then a seven-man team fired 3 shots in harmony for a 21-gun salute, followed by a lone bugler playing taps somewhere off in the background. At the end taps, the flag was folded and passed through three Marines, by Rank, until a Marine commander knelt in front of my oldest brother, Tom, and said:

“On behalf of the President Of the United States, the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation of your Father’s service to Country and Corps.”

It was the most beautiful tribute I could ever image.

Back when Dad joined the Marines in 1941, one of the Marine recruitment posters was, “Once a Marine, Always a Marine”. It was coined by a gung-ho Marine Corps master sergeant, Paul Woyshner in 1917. Years later, the Commandant of the Marine Corp made it official: Once the title "U.S. Marine" has been earned, it is retained. There are no ex-Marines or former-Marines. There are (1) active duty Marines, (2) retired Marines, (3) reserve Marines, and (4) Marine veterans. Once one has earned the title, he remains a Marine for life.

“Once a Marine, Always a Marine” is not a recruiting slogan today, it’s a way of life for those who serve. I did not comprehend or fully appreciate what these words meant until I felt it as I looked into every one of those twelve Marines’ eyes as they honored my father on that day. They truly lost one of their brothers as well.

God bless The United States Marine Corp, past, present and future.