I am the Wife of a
United States Marine
by Lisa Spencer
This gives me immense
pride to say. We were married June
16, 2001; three months before the
horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11
completely changed our lives. On
our wedding day I was so proud to
walk down the aisle to my Marine
in his Dress Blues. I was proud to
stand for pictures in my white wedding dress surrounded by Marines
in their Dress Blues. I loved the
ceremony where I was whacked on
the bottom with an NCO sword as
my official “Welcome to the
Corps!” That day was all finery
and show. Our families were beaming too. I was proud that night to
feel my Marines’ arms around me
and his kiss and the power of his
love for me. On that night, we had
no idea, in 3 months, our lives
would change forever as America
was forever scarred.
be attacked. We watched Americans jump to their deaths rather
than being burned alive. We were
saddened and angry, but we knew
this meant war. Who craves war
more than a Marine Corps Infantryman? My heart sank as I came to
realize the day my husband would
be deployed to retaliate for these
acts of terrorism. But as quickly as
it sank, it swelled with pride. I was
proud I was married to a man who
volunteered to serve his country,
and I was proud he was going to be
a part of the “War on Terror.”
That deployment was difficult to say the least. Forty-eight
members of his unit paid the ultimate price for our freedom. It was
hard to see another casualty on the
news and then wait. It was either a
knock on the door or a phone call.
Phone calls were good because it
was always him telling me he was
ok. Every time I heard his voice on
the line I would breathe a huge sigh
of relief that he was alive, and then
my heart would break because I
knew another family was getting a
knock on their door.
In 2005, his turn came, leaving our home with me and our three
children ages 2, 7, and 9 and