yep safe and sound back in Okinawa

The training exercise miss Erica was on in Thailand was called Cobra Gold 2011 .. found many pics on line, it was a joint training with the Japanese, Thailand and US Marines all working together. Although none of these pictures have Erica's unit .. they were involved and miss Erica was their site chief. As I find any good pics I'll add them ....

Thailand .. finally a few pics

yep got to ride an elephant :), visit a temple, eat a locus, ride in a tuk tuk (a three wheel open cab)

the name of the zoo is the real name of the town .. its called Korat for short.

Thailand February Operation

"well" I did get a phone call that she made it to Thailand safe and sound and was off to work first thing.. she sounded really good. Her Marine friend Rita is in our neck of the woods so, my friend Kim and I picked her up at the airport.. went back down to Oceanside CA this week to have dinner with her.. was real nice but short.. I know she's missing home. Rita is from America - Samoa, its little island in the South Pacific and is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the Cook Islands, it is a US territory. Guess its very green there and humid about seven hours to Hawaii Rita said.

well, miss Erica is well and was able to get a little R&R time so they went to the Korat Zoo. No pictures yet but you know me, I research.. so I found some pictures on line. Hope to hear from her soon.

info on where she's near .. 'X' marks the spot .. lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakhon_Ratchasima

zoo pics

well I've been busy lol

will and erica.. will came to pendleton also because he's getting out .. erica katie and rita at rita and will's send off

Sorry between sick and working and tired and doing odds and ends for my kids.. I just haven't had time. Miss Erica is on another meu .. but more on that at another time when I can fill you in.

Went to San Diego on Saturday to pick up Erica's best friend from the Marines from Okinawa .. Rita has been there two years and has been changed to Pendleton.. really not that far from us .. so Erica asked if I would pick her up, especially since its her first time to the western states.

Rita is a sweet girl and I easily see why her and miss Erica got along so well. She actually is a couple months younger than erica but has been in the Marines since she was seventeen. She was only with us about twenty four hours and was calling me mom by the time we got her to base to check in.

They gave her no time to acclimate herself to the time change.. I couldn't believe that one. Erica said "yep .. thats how it is." more to come :)

Happy 1/1/11

Can you believe it .. miss Erica has been overseas now for a year. We all miss her! With a new year comes new adventures.. as she will be heading to Thailand soon. Another exciting place in the world to see.. well Happy New Year & God Bless

The secret picture ... hard at work at the copy machine LOL Miss Erica's readiness officer sent this to me.. telling me it is in her units photo archives .. he said to bad there wasn't something exciting going on like smoke in the background or? I laughed and said at least she's working LOL. She doesn't even know I have the picture ;)

A Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

A least I got a phone call even if the connection wasn't that great.. at least I heard her voice. She exchanged her gifts with her buddies, she went on and on how she loved her gift and buddies teased saying they wanted them ;)

life long buddies ... I need help with names .. ??????I know Rita's laying down and Kate's on the far right .. I'll have to ask miss Erica

Challenge Coins

Marine Corps Challenge Coins

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Among the Marine Corps' many traditions is the carrying of the challenge coin, and it is rooted in history dating back to World War I.

The most common story of the first challenge coins tells of a wealthy lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps, the predecessor of the Air Force. He had given the men in his unit bronze medallions, and one young pilot wore his medallion in a leather pouch around his neck.

One day, following an emergency landing of his aircraft behind enemy lines, the pilot was captured by the Germans, and his personal identification was confiscated.

The pilot managed to escape the Germans by donning civilian attire, and he found his way to a French outpost. But the French had seen many enemies masquerading as civilians, and since they didn’t recognize his American accent they planned to execute him.

Though he had no identification, he did have the medallion in the pouch around his neck to prove his allegiance. He presented it to the French and they recognized its insignia. He was excused from execution and given a bottle of wine.

Carrying the medallion saved his life, and it became tradition that members in his squadron carry their medallions wherever they went.

Today, service members possess many medallions, or challenge coins, bearing their organization’s insignia. These coins are often presented by high-ranking officers for a job well done, which is a great honor. They are also sometimes traded between men in a unit.

Military members still carry one challenge coin to prove their loyalty and in case of a “coin check.” A coin check occurs when a member challenges the others to reveal their challenge coins. If any member fails to do so, it is their responsibility to buy a round of drinks for everyone.

Every challenge coin has its own meaning and reason for why it was given, and they make great gifts for military members, especially as they graduate from boot camp or move up in rank.

You can purchase challenge coins, coin sets and coin accessories from the Marine Parents EGA Store. All proceeds from the store go back to the Marines and their families through Marine Parents outreach programs. Click here to browse our challenge coins.

Erica had got an awesome challenge coin from boot camp it was for her battalion 4 it looked like a dog tag.. but alas when we got home it was not in our suit case :( so bummed