SAXTONS RIVER — When I was 13, the family took a trip to Norfolk, Va. That same week, some Navy unit had just come home from its deployment. There must've been at least 400 sailors, all in their dress whites.
I looked at my mother, and I told her: “When I'm old enough, I'm going to join the Navy and defend our country.”
For years, I couldn't stop thinking about that one sentence.
I didn't exactly know what I meant at the time, but as I grew older and thought about it, I came to realize what I'd been given.
I was adopted from El Salvador when I was six months old, and I've had opportunities like having a good mother, a stable home, an education, and a real shot at life.
I came to realize that I owe this great nation for all the opportunities that I've received over the years.
* * *
After Sept. 11, I knew in my heart this was my time to repay my country, so I decided to join the Navy. My grandfather was a pilot, and my great uncle was one of the first Navy Seabees in 1942.
I thought for a few moments. I called the Navy recruiter, and I said, “I want to join the Navy and use my skills as a builder.”
Six months later, I had been to Chicago for basic training, and Gulfport, Miss., for Seabee training.
The next thing I knew, I had a rifle in my hands, a piss pot on my head, and a look of horror on my face as I was headed to Iraq.
* * *
I have always felt that what you do today defines who you are tomorrow. That saying has done me well throughout my three tours to Iraq, and my last deployment to the Horn of Africa, in Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia.
I learned that patriotism is more than just waving a flag on the 4th of July. We all pay a price.
When I was born, there was a civil war going on in El Salvador, and people were being punished and persecuted for speaking out against the government.
I know not many people were as fortunate as I was to escape the tyranny and oppression. Some people would have their babies ripped from their arms. So many others were imprisoned, killed, or kidnapped, never to be heard from again.
I was blessed to have made it to the land of the free.
* * *
When my sister and I were young, my mother laid the foundation of honor, courage, and the ability to overcome obstacles. I know these values have served me well as I have used them throughout my life.
Now that I have a family of my own, I'm trying to instill the same fundamentals she passed on, as well as new ones I've learned along the way.
Now that I'm out of the service, I spend time teaching my little ones about honor, courage, and the American sense of duty, through my everyday actions.