Sound Off

"Give me Liberty..."

From the Editor

In 1775, as our burgeoning nation faced war with England, Patrick Henry stood before his colleagues and denounced King George's rule over the colonies. He knew that war was inevitable and that peace talks would only result in the colonies being further oppressed and individuals being stripped of their liberties. He knew that death was preferable to the absence of liberty.

What he didn't know is that he was sounding the first "libo call" of our great nation. I imagine when he said "Give me liberty or give me death," every Continental Marine in hearing distance dropped his musket and headed to Tun Tavern.

Today, libo is probably the best four-letter word you'll ever hear a Marine utter. It invokes such strong ideals of freedom that Marines literally dream about it.

Take the disgruntled lance corporal: "Man! I'm sick of this deployment. It rains every day; my feet are shriveled; the chow sucks; my stupid gunny keeps giving me a hard time; my girl won't write – I can't wait for libo."

And the best sea stories: "I'm tellin' ya, man, libo was so outstanding in Kinville! One time, me and my boys spent a whole weekend at the Shangri-La and never saw daylight until Monday morning formation."

For Marines, libo is just as important as knowing close-order drill. Without close-order drill, movement of large numbers of Marines becomes a goat rope. Without libo, everything just feels like a goat rope.

This issue of Marines is dedicated to liberty. In it, you'll find a "roadmap" of sorts to point you to some of the best spots to visit in your off-duty time, a feature on the nation's capital and some price comparisons to allow you to save some money for your next round of libo.

Semper Fi,
Marines