Draft Remarks for The Lighthouse Project '99, Central High School, North Carolina, 29 January 1999 by Gen. Charles C. Krulak
I am honored to be here today before such a prestigious audience ...before the leadership of tomorrow ...the leaders that will advance our Nation in the 21st Century. I cannot help but be excited when I think of what lies before you ... the adventure and excitement ... and oh, how I envy you! You will be the ones to take us to new heights and new accomplishments.
You will be making the breakthrough discoveries and finding solutions to the problems that previous generations-to include my own-simply could not solve. And it will be you who will have to stand up to the new challenges that will arise tomorrow ... and there will be challenges ...there always are. How will you prepare yourself for this exciting, yet challenging future? How will you make yourself ready, so that you may be found worthy of the mantle of leadership that will surely be placed upon your shoulders?
Perhaps the best way for me to illustrate these concepts is to relate
to you some examples from my experience in Vietnam. It was 0600,
the third of June, 1966. I was in command of "G" Company, Second Battalion,
First Marine Regiment. I was a First Lieutenant at the time, and
had been given this command because the previous commander had been killed
about one week earlier. My Company had been given a simple mission
that began with a helicopter assault. We would land in a series of
dried-up rice paddies about 6 football fields in length, and three football
fields in width. These paddies were surrounded by jungle-covered mountains,
with a dry stream bed running along one side. We were supposed to
land, put on our packs, and do what all Marines do: find the largest mountain,
and climb to the top. There we would put ourselves in a defensive
perimeter to act as the blocking force for an offensive sweep conducted
by two battalions.
The helicopters landed, unloaded my company of Marines, and had just
started to leave when the world collapsed. Automatic weapons, mortar
fire, artillery-it was hell on earth. Fortunately, a good portion
of my Company had managed to move into the dry stream bed where they were
protected from most of the fire. However, one platoon had landed
too far west to move immediately to the cover of the stream bed. As they
tried to move in that direction, the fires on them became so heavy they
had no alternative but to hit the deck. One particular squad found
itself directly in the line of fire of a North Vietnamese 12.7mm heavy
machine gun. In a matter of seconds, two Marines were killed and
three were seriously wounded. As I watched what was happening from
my position in the stream bed, I knew that it was just a matter of time
before that machine gun would systematically "take out" that whole platoon-squad
by squad. If I didn't act immediately, they would be lost in just
a matter of minutes. I made a call to the commander of the first
platoon that had made its way into the stream bed, directing him to move
up the stream bed so he could attack across the flank of the gun position-not
having to assault it directly from the front. At the same time, I directed
another platoon to provide suppressive fire that might diminish the volume
of fire coming from the machine gun position. All this was happening in
the midst of smoke, multiple explosions, heavy small arms fire, and people
yelling to be heard over the din of battle.
Suddenly, my radio operator grabbed me by the sleeve and pointed toward the middle of the rice paddy where a black Marine-a Lance Corporal by the name of Grable-had gotten to his feet, placed his M-14 rifle on his hip, and charged the machine gun-firing as fast as he could possibly fire. He ran about 40 meters directly toward the machine gun and then cut to the side, much like a running back might do during a football game. Sure enough, the machine gun, which had been delivering heavy fire on his squad, picked up off of the squad and began firing at Grable. Seeing the fire shift away from them, the squad moved immediately to the cover of a small rice paddy dike-thick ground, about a foot high separating each paddy from the other. Both they, and the other two squads were able to drag their casualties and gear to the position of safety behind this dike. Grable didn't look back. He didn't see what happened. He kept on fighting. He dodged back and forth across these paddies, firing continuously. He would run out of ammunition, reload on the run, and continue forward-dodging back and forth as he ran.
BAM! Suddenly he was picked up like a dishrag and thrown backward-hit by at least one round. The rest of the platoon charged. My radio operator grabbed me again, but saying nothing, he just pointed to the middle of the rice paddy. That young Marine-Lance Corporal Grable had gotten to his feet. As he stood, he didn't put the rifle to his hip; he locked the weapon into his shoulder...took steady aim- good sight picture, good sight alignment-and walked straight down the line of fire into that machine gun. About four minutes later, my command group and the rest of the unit finally arrived at the now-silent machine gun position. There were nine dead enemy soldiers around the gun...Lance Corporal Grable was draped over the gun itself. As only Marines can do, these battle-hardened young men tenderly picked up Grable and laid him on the ground. When they opened his "flak jacket" he had five massive wounds from that machine gun. FIVE...
About seven months later, I traveled back to Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington and watched the Commandant of the Marine Corps present Lance Corporal Grable's widow with the nation's second highest decoration for valor-the Navy Cross. In this woman's arms was the baby boy that Grable had only seen in a Polaroid picture. Grable displayed great physical courage. Somewhere in his character was another kind of courage as well-moral courage-the courage to do the right thing. When he had the chance to do something else, he chose to do the right thing. His squad was in mortal danger. He had a choice to make, and he did what was right, at the cost of his life. Let me remind you, this was 1966. Grable was a black Marine from Tennessee, who couldn't even buy a hamburger at the McDonald's in his hometown.
So, what of your character? Who are you? No, not the physical
and superficial image ... but who are you really? What do you stand
for? What is the essence of your character? Where is your moral compass
pointing? Which course do you follow? Everyday we have to make
decisions. It is through this decision making process that we show those
around us the quality of our character. The majority of the decisions
we have to make are "no brainers." Deciding what we are going to
have for breakfast is not going to test your character ... judgment maybe,
but not character. The true test of character comes when the stakes are
high ... when the chips are down ... when your gut starts to turn ... when
the sweat starts to form on your brow ... when you know the decision you
are about to make may not be popular ... but it must be made. That is when
your true character is exposed. The associations you keep, the peers
you choose, the mentors you seek, the organizations you affiliate with-all
help to define your character. But in the end-you will be judged as an
individual-not as part of a group. Success in life-like in combat-has
always demanded a depth of character. Those who can reach deep inside themselves-and
draw upon an inner strength, fortified by strong values, always carry the
day against those of lesser character. Moral cowards never win in war ...moral
cowards never win in life. They might believe that they are winning a few
battles here and there, but their victories are never sweet ... they never
stand the test of time ... and they never serve to inspire others. In fact,
each and every one of a moral coward's "supposed victories" ultimately
leads them to failure. Those who have the courage to face up to ethical
challenges in their daily lives will find that same courage can be drawn
upon in times of great stress ... in times of great controversy ... in
times of the never ending battle between good and evil .
All around our society you see immoral behavior ...lying, cheating,
stealing, drug use and alcohol abuse, prejudice, and a lack of respect
for human dignity and the law. In the not too distant future, each of you
are going to be confronted with situations where you will have to deal
straight-up with these issues. The question is ... what will you do when
that happens? What action will you take? You will know what you should
do ... the issue is ... will you DO what you know is right? It takes
moral courage to hold your ideals above yourself. It is the DEFINING aspect
of your character. So, when the test of your character-of your moral courage
comes -- regardless of the noise and confusion around you, there will be
a moment of inner silence in which you must decide what to do. Your character
will be defined by your decision ... and it is yours and yours alone to
make. When that moment of silence comes and you are wrestling with
your decision, consider this poem:
THE EAGLE AND THE WOLF There is a great battle that rages inside me. One side is a soaring eagle. Everything the eagle stands for is good and true and beautiful. It soars above the clouds. Even though it dips down into the valleys, it lays its eggs on mountain tops. The other side of me is a howling wolf. And that raging, howling wolf represents the worst that is in me. He eats upon my downfalls and justifies himself by his presence in the pack. Who wins this great battle?... The one I feed. The one I feed. I challenge you all to feed the eagle. Remember, your Nation depends upon it. God bless you all and
Semper Fidelis.