You’ve been through hell before. Maybe in a combat zone, maybe in your own head. Maybe both. And right now, it feels like you’re losing. But listen, this fight isn’t fair, because the enemy knows you too well. It knows your weak spots, your regrets, the ghosts you carry. It uses them against you.
But you are a Marine. And what does a Marine do when he’s cut off, outnumbered, outgunned? He digs in. He fights like hell. He embraces the suck and finds a way.
Right now, you might not see a way out. That’s fine. You don’t have to see it yet. You just have to hold. Hold the line until reinforcements come. And they will come. They might look like an old friend reaching out, a memory that reminds you who you are, or just the next sunrise after a brutal night.
You are not weak for feeling this way. You are not broken. You are carrying weight that would crush most people. But you are not most people.
Every Marine in history who’s made it through the darkest moments has done so by taking one more step. Just one. Then another. That’s all you have to do right now. The darkness doesn’t define you. You’re defined by the courage it takes to face it. Keep going. Keep fighting. And if you ever forget why, remember this:
You are needed. You do matter. And the world is a better place with you still in the fight.
Semper Fi.
