Reflections on Service Ahead of the Semiquincentennial
In a column, a military veteran reflects on service, pluralism, and what the armed forces teach the country about unity as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary. Veterans Day provides a moment to look beyond sacrifice and examine how military service brings together Americans from wildly different backgrounds behind a shared purpose.
The author grew up in a middle-class family in a predominantly white Northern Virginia suburb during the 1970s and 1980s. A career police officer father and a stay-at-home mother who ran a home childcare business raised five children in a Catholic, patriotic household where politics rarely came up. Years later, after the parents divorced, the author discovered the mother was a progressive Democrat while the father was a conservative Republican.
From Suburbia to the United States Marine Corps
After high school and college sports aspirations faded due to injuries, the author spent a year living at home trying to figure out a path forward. Remembering an affinity for the physical demands, strategy, and discipline of sports, the author followed a father’s advice and joined the United States Marine Corps.
Camaraderie Forged in Officer Candidate School
Starting at Officer Candidate School, the author found camaraderie, adventure, and a profound sense of purpose. The military exposed the author to combat realities alongside people of varied racial, ethnic, religious, academic, and economic backgrounds from all corners of the country. Service members included Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, and agnostics serving side by side.
Pluralism Put to the Test in Special Operations
One platoon included a proud Texan, a Jewish Harvard Law School graduate, and a Hispanic former gang member from East Los Angeles serving as enlisted Marines together. Later, while serving as a Company Commander in Marine Special Operations, the author relied on two vastly different senior enlisted service members: a Company First Sergeant who grew up in Chicago’s inner-city neighborhoods as the child of Chilean immigrants, and an Operations Chief who grew up riding horses and competing in rodeos in Oklahoma.
Building Trust Across Divergent Worldviews
Despite divergent upbringings and worldviews, these service members built trust through shared responsibility, mutual respect, and sacrifice. The author argues that this model demonstrates how Americans do not need identical backgrounds to stand together, and that national differences remain a source of strength.
