Graduation went without a hitch today. Pretty hot on the back of your neck in the bleachers even at 0900. The speeches were short and sweet. One of them included something about smelling like The Quigley for the rest of their lives.
All the candidates looked sharp and stepped out even more sharply on the Parade Deck. Even the "Texas A&M Awards Ceremony" was pretty good!
OK, there were 3 candidates from other schools (Auburn, VA Tech, and Clemson) who also won awards. When I thought about it, it only makes sense that the SMCs would dominate there.
The commander's speech included some "funny" interaction with the candidates regarding parenting skills. Won't ruin that for you folks in the second increment. Portions were pretty moving, but no more so for me than when the candidates sung the last two lines of the Marine Hymn a capella. Should have brought some tissues.
DS took us by 'My Deli' in Quantico for lunch. Best bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) and kimchi I ever had. It may possibly become a regular stop when traveling Interstate 95.
DS' girlfriend left Raleigh at 4 AM in order to make it in time for the ceremony. She gave him the longest hug on the Parade Deck I've ever seen. Guess she missed him a little.
Definitely plan on being parked and seated by 8:30 if not earlier. Earlier would be better as even at 8:30 the selection was limited. Be sure to grab a program for the scrap book. There were some "coin" and Platoon T Shirt sales beforehand, but it's best to handle that at the motivational run. Bring water. Even if you don't want it, your DS or DD will after spending a hot hour out on the parade deck. DS was sweating heavily and it wasn't really all that hot this AM in the breeze they had (no breeze in the bleachers though). The back of the Parade Deck has the flags of each state. We took a pic in front of NC (home) and SC (school). As I recall though, that's pretty common so it's probably not new news for most of you. If you can get onto the Parade Deck quickly after dismissal you can probably get more "buddy" pics than we were able to. A lot of the guys seemed anxious to leave with their family and I know some had flights to catch.
I would also add that everyone we met, and I mean everyone: enlisted, officer, parent, sibling.... everyone was so cordial and friendly the whole time we've been here. Says a lot about our nation's service men and women and their families as well.
Never saw a finer and happier bunch of men in my life than those on the Parade Deck today!