Day Two

We boarded our buses like obedient school children and felt a little more at ease as we started this trip back in time. As we drove to Quantico, I am sure there were as many thought paths as there were men in the group. When we got to the Basic School area, almost to a man, the comment was that they didn't recognize it at all! Buildings stand where quonset huts were, trees and shrubs have grown tall, and the realization that men and place had both moved on.

A talk from several Marines on the current leadership training program was next on the agenda before we headed over to a martial arts demonstration by two guys and a gal - oh, there is another big change. Women go through the entire TBS program with men now training to lead others into combat although women are not in front line combat at this time technically. Apparently that is a grey area. A tour of the school followed and then we attached ourselves in small groups to young second lieutenants who talked about their experience and had lunch with them in the old mess hall. Our friend was a very attractive young man from New York who seemed like the perfect PR automaton to me - spitting out all of the approved answers to questions. Definitely a gungho Marine and ready to go with his classmates to Afghanistan which will be their next stop after this training (once again 26 weeks).

Hopped on those buses again and headed to the museum which was absolutely awesome. There is a beautiful chapel in the woods next to the museum also and we checked that out as well. Over this day and the night before, we began to reconnect with Munn's roommate from TBS, Tony Hilliard and his wife Peg. We double-dated with them on our first date - they were engaged at the time. After this tour, it was back to the hotel for awhile and then to dinner at the Globe and Laurel restaurant outside Quantico. Nice evening and got acquainted with a few more folks. One guy at the table has 4 purple hearts! He says that he was not seriously injured but who knows? Two of the guys we sat with have been back to Nam and another is going in a few months. I found that kind of surreal to contemplate.

Again, the conversation was fun and on the light side. It would be another day before we went below the surface at all.