Jesse is coming home to America this week. He is not quite finished his tour yet but we sure will be glad to see him. He joined the Marines right out of high school and has had three tours of Iraq. We pray for him all the time, just as all families and friends pray for these young men.Is there a Jesse in your family or your circle of friends, your church? His father once told me that always, Jesse wanted to help people. He was home one time when we had our Sisters in Christ Banquet and he helped serve the ladies alongside the other men of the church. I cannot see that Jesse sees himself as any different from anybody. Mind you, his whole family is kind of like that.
So, I was interested to catch an interview with another very special Marine who has written a book, Once A Marine. This book is available (signed) at his website or at places like Amazon.com. It originally came out in October.
I am not very military-smart, but there was a picture of a marine, holding a cigar in his hand, driving a tank at the Saddam Hussein statue they pulled down. Nick, from Indianapolis, Indiana, was that "Cigar Marine". He says people sent him all manner of cigars after seeing the picture. Unfortunately, that is not the end of Nick's story.
Later, Nick was very badly injured. He did survive but lost one eye and most of the sight in his other eye. He usually wears an eye patch, but does wear a prosthetic eye with a Marine emblem on it.
Nick loved being a Marine; Nick loves life! Now; Nick is going to be a High School Teacher! (High School Teachers and Marines need about the same amount of courage!)
There is an expression: Once A Marine, Always A Marine. It is considered discourteous to use the term ex-Marine. The correct expression would be "former enlisted Marine" or "former commissioned officer Marine". Hence the title of Nick's book.
One hopes this book will become a movie! Websites where you can learn more and see official photos are listed:
http://www.cigarmarine.com
http://www.onceamarine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDpg7FC0sI
2 comments:
Thanks for this!
Gunny Pop, our author, was on last night on Fox News's Red Eye show.
http://lighthouseontheright.blogspot.com/2009/01/nick-popaditch-marine-you-should-know.html
Please share this with your lists.
Semper Fi, Gunny.
Marty
Here is more about Nick and how to find out about his book and story:
One of our authors, Nick "Gunny Pop" Popaditch (Marine tank commander, Silver Star recipient, combat wounded--only 8 percent vision remaining in his left eye, with the other blown out) was on Fox News Channel (Red Eye late show) this week, and the result has been overwhelmingly positive. You can watch the clip here: http://www.foxnews.com/video-search/m/21814156/once_a_marine.htm#q=red+eye. Funny, quirky show and Nick had a great time. Hope you like it.
"Gunny Pop" is widely known around the world as "The Cigar Marine" (Google it--his tanks captured Firdos "Saddam" square in April 2003 and helped pull down the hated statue). His new bestselling book is called "Once a Marine" (www.onceamarine.com), where you can also see his cool Hollywood-style book trailer here: http://www.onceamarine.com/once-a-marine-movie
We appreciate any support you can provide this American hero and his family, whether it is reading his book, sharing this message with others in your email list and asking them to do likewise, and especially contacting local and national TV and radio hosts/producers and asking that they have this patriot on their show. He teaches character, dignity, and values.
We appreciate your support of Nick and his family in any way you can.
Thank you.
Tammy Hall
Sacramento, California
Post a Comment