Proud...

Ernesto had his Reenlistment ceremony today, it was held in front of the miniature statue of Iwo Jima. It was a good choice for him to pick that location, it suits him. Another 4 years to add to his 8...12 more left to be eligible for retirement. He never thought he would stay any longer than his first enlistment...ha ha ha and now he's on his 3rd. I've seen him go through hard times and struggles in the last 8 years. He's given blood, sweat, and tears to the Marine Corps. The long hours, the field ops, the deployments (oh God the deployments!). He's seen more countries now then most people see in their lifetimes. I'm proud of his courage, his strength, and whatever will he has in him to go to work every morning.

He's been to Iraq... and has had to live with the pain of losing his friends, and the guilt of coming back home without them. It's been almost 3 months now since they've been back, none of them are the same. I still hear about their war stories and their memories. All of them looked older when they returned, the desert had aged their faces by 10 years. But now, they all look healthier with laugh lines indented in their cheeks. Slowly but surely, I know it's still going to take some time...

More pics I took from the ceremony...