Letter Eight finds us nearly a month into recruit training, and I was starting to get used to the routine, getting a lot stronger, and

Okay ladies and gentleman, we are fully indoctrinated into the Marine Corps at this point and the stress inoculations are working. San Diego in summertime rivals

These boot camp letters sent home from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, reflect a rapidly changing mindset. Chubby recruits become fatbodies. Food is

Alright, ladies and gentleman, after a bit of a wait, here is letter four that I sent home to my parents from Boot Camp. If

I become valuable to the platoon for having the only copy of the recruit training schedule, become adept at disassembling and reassembling my M16A2 rifle, but

“We hear little about the outside world except that Marines are dying. “ Letter Two was written about a week and a half into boot

Letter One. April 14, 2004. My 22nd birthday. Nine days before my 22nd birthday, I shipped out to Marine Corps recruit training in San Diego,