Marine Drill Instructor helps to instill team spirit by ‘sharing the load’ from stragglers who are falling behind. It was the first ten mile run, the platoon ran with full packs, rifles, web gear, etc. They were not even at the half-way point. Some dozen recruits had fallen out of the ranks and were far back, strung out and a few almost ready to quit. The Marine Drill Instructors were badgering the rear stragglers to catch up with the main pack.
The Korean War Baby was in the ranks in his usual position as a smaller man, one of the last in the main formation. He glanced back, concerned about two of his friends who were stumbling along behind. If they dropped out and quit, they might be “RECYCLED” a word that brought recruits shudders. Recycled would me going backward several weeks to another platoon AND DOING EVERYTHING AGAIN!
As the Platoon Commander jogged back to the end of the formation to check on the men behind, the KWB called out to him.
“Sir, the Private requests permission to ‘Fall out’ and assist stragglers, Sir!”
The Platoon Commander asked him, “Why you want to do that, Private?”
“Sir, it’s the Marine Way! Gung Ho!” (note to non-Marines, “Gung Ho” was a Chinese saying picked up by so called China Marines, the 4th Marine Regiment. It means “Working Enthusiastically Together in Harmony” and has become one of many mottos of the US Marine.)
The Platoon Commander smiled and gave me, and several others who volunteered, permission to fall out and ‘make sure they made it all the way’. Well, we did by Gung Ho spirit, pushing and pulling our fellow recruits to catch up on the next downward sections.
On the last stretch we redressed our lines, straightened our gear, raised our M-14 rifles to a proper “Port Arms” position, and were looking good. Every swing d#%@ of our platoon finished the run, and we were proud as we came across the line. Later our Platoon Commander actually told us that we were the only platoon to come across TOGETHER in formation. Gung HO! Semper Fi!
suck it up slang - Google Search
"SUCK IT UP"- “stop whining, bitching, complaining, moaning, etc. Just deal with it, move on, endure mental, physical, or emotional hardship with no complaining.” To a Marine, who loves to bitch about everything, we still Suck it Up and Be Marines.Many times in life people are faced with incredible hardships, trials, impossible tasks, etc. Life is full of ordeals that others who have not gone through cannot imagine. Unless we have ‘been there, done that, got the T-shirt’ we have little empathy or sympathy. But in “This Thing of Ours-Adoption” we have many common experiences.
The KWB knows that many TransRacial/TransCultural adoptees have faced challenges, prejudices, social miss-identity (called another ethnic slurs-most don’t even know the differences), the list goes on and on. He does not want to sound flippant, or without feelings…but sometimes you just have to
SUCK IT UP, Korean Adoptee!! Stand up for who you are, you are not White! So What?! Get over it. You are a unique individual, you are alive, act alive! Don’t take crap from anyone! It is your mind that matters most. Find out who you are, then LIVE.
Some people just whine and moan about being adopted…Oh, boohoo. hey better than being killed by your mother in abortion. Adoption isn’t the original problem, being abandoned by birth mothers, who had a plethora of reasons, her family, and Korean society is the Beginning of life’s traumas for many adoptees. Most of us have lived out our lives, loved our adoptive families as our own, adoption is just part of who we are and most would be consider themselves to be 'normal'.
Many have taken personal journey’s, “Beyond Culture Camp” on their own. Thousands have visited the motherland and sought to learn more and see the land that they came from. Hundreds have lived and worked in Korea over the years, only a few many years. Each has their different stories, the spectrum goes from wonderful to horrible on their reunions. Only 2,400 and change have 'found their birth families' with mixed results. But for most, they will not even have a chance to be on public television or print media. They must Deal with not knowing, sorting out their feelings and emotional wounds. They must survive, move on with life.
If you really think your would have been ‘better off dead’ then GO…kill yourself. OR get counseling, seek help, find God, religion. Read and learn from
others on how to overcome. Seek help from those who have traveled the road ahead of you. Only the strong survive, so grow a ‘pair’ or put a ‘rock in a sock’, brace yourself up, stand straight up. DEAL with your life, find your self-identity. The KWB is tired of hearing SOME of the “Woe is me. I are ruined because I were adopted” crowd.
Blaming all of life’s problems on adoption is not going to solve anything. How’s that working? Sorry to sound like a Marine Drill Instructor but well…Do or die.
Huge majorities of Korean Adoptees HAVE found their identity and self worth despite ‘being raised by White folks’. We are all “Twinkies or Bananas”, Western minds trapped in Asian bodies. Oh, and some ten thousand Half-Breeds like the KWB have had it just as bad if not worse. Fourteen years in his mother’s land but he and other ‘Tuigi’ will never be viewed by “Real Koreans” as Korean.
Many go far in studying the language, changing back to their ‘real’ name, desperately seeking to GO NATIVE again. We applaud your hard work but Lots of luck! Real Koreans will never think of you as, well, Really Korean. ‘Real Korean’ Koreans watch television shows with foreign devils speaking (some of them) very good Korean, but then they LAUGH! The KWB asks his students and friends why do you laugh? They tell him, because ‘they speak like small children’. Long ago the KWB stopped trying to learn his mother’s tongue for these reasons. But you gotta do what feels good to you.
Some would have you believe that a few represent the ALL. There is hardly, barely any ALL in All. The ‘main pact’ are the thousands of Korean Adoptees who are just dealing with it. YOU have to SUCK IT UP and deal with life. Some of us will fall back and help you catch up. We are in “This Thing of Ours-Adoption” together. Let’s help each other run the race, even if we have to push, drag, or carry each other to the finish.
Warning on language!!
One, I don't want to be a marine. Or carry a rock in my sock.
ReplyDeleteTwo, I've sucked it up for over 40 years and found it to be very unhealthy and think it's time to dismantle that edifice in my own case. It is quite obvious that you're not doing so well sucking it up yourself, given the amount of ranting about adoption you do on a website devoted to identity issues. That's kind of the antithesis of sucking it up. The shouting really doesn't help spread your position at all.
In addition, you talk about adoptee unity while dismissing the very real and valid feelings of many. That's not very inclusive in my book. Those that don't suck it up in the manner you find acceptable - their voices also count.
As for bananas and twinkies, I really don't think you are either. You are like the majority of Americans, white but of mixed ethnicity. Proclaiming your Asian heritage is your choice. It's not a choice for most of us. That's a lonely place to be, but at least you can be thankful you were saved.
In our discovery process, many of us who weren't saved from the war will come up with different conclusions than you. I don't speak for all adoptees and never have, but to me there's something seriously wrong when adoptions continue over 50 years AFTER the war is over. If the adoption agencies weren't here, then Korea would be forced to work out their own social issues.
I don't want to see Korean children having to write blogs like ours 20 years from now.
btww, I totally agree with everything you've written in the sidebar to the left. It doesn't seem to correspond with this "suck it up" post.
ReplyDeletePLEASE read the next Post for Update with comments.
ReplyDelete