On Veterans Day, we must all take a moment to think about how fortunate we are to have others fight for our freedoms. The servicemen and servicewomen who serve for the United States are true heroes and deserve to be recognized today – and every other day.
While Veterans Day honors all branches of service, the day before Veterans Day is the Marine Corps birthday. Yesterday, November 10, the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its 250th birthday.
And one country music star, who is also a retired Marine, is sending a special message to all his fellow Marines. Jamey Johnson took some time out of his busy schedule to wish the Marine Corps a happy birthday ahead of Veterans Day.
“Hey, it’s Jamey Johnson, I just wanted to take a second and tell all my Marine brothers and sisters happy birthday. 250 years, I don’t look a day over.”
While the message is very heartfelt, you can’t help but giggle at his ending statement, poking some fun at his greying beard.
Jamey Johnson served in the Marine Corps from 1994 to 2002. Johnson joined the Marines after two years of being in college. During a conversation with Shelby and Quinn for an episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, Johnson shared that he tried out the whole college thing, then felt as though he had gotten everything out of it that he needed to in a couple of years:
“I had a full-ride scholarship at Jacksonville State. Played a French horn in the concert band. After a couple of years, I figured I learned everything I was gonna learn. And I joined the Marines. I didn’t want to do the things you had to do to keep the scholarship. I was ready to move along and do something else.”
That something else was joining the Marine Corps. Jamey Johnson simply says that he always knew he would be a Marine at some point in his life, and once he was ready to move on from Jacksonville State, it seemed like the next logical step:
“There was always something in me that I knew I was going to do it. From the time I was a kid, I always knew I was going to be a Marine one day. When I reached that point in college when it was time to sign this off and move on, one of my ideas was, ‘Well, I can go join the Marine Corps or go in the reserves, get my GI bill and then (get) right back up in school.’”
@whiskeyriff “From the time I was a kid, I always knew I was going to be a Marine one day.” // Check out the full podcast with @JameyJohnsonOfficial available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #jameyjohnson #marinecorps ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
During his time in service, Johnson reached the rank of corporal.
Johnson is a proud former Marine and has also honored those who have served in his music. Last year, ahead of his Midnight Oil release, Jamey Johnson made his triumphant return with the release of a somber tune, “21 Guns,” which honors fallen Marines.
Johnson spoke about what this song means to him:
“I wrote it because I have gone to too many funerals of Marines I served with that were just too young. When they die young, you always remember them that way, which is unfair. Guys that heroic that die that young deserve the right to grow old and they didn’t get to.
But it is also being at those funerals and seeing their parents who seem much too young to have a child die in that way and wondering what must be going through their minds. This song is the answer to that question.”
For fans who know his history in the Marine Corps, it makes these lines hit even deeper:
“A preacher stammers through a nice verse
Does his best to eulogize
At times like this there ain’t no right words
The rifles fire and your life flashes right before my eyes
I don’t need no one to tell me you’re a hero
Hell, I’ve known that ever since you were young
And there ain’t words to say how proud we all are of you son
Nothing says job well done like 21 guns”
“21 Guns” is a stunningly heartbreaking tune and is a great song to queue up today in honor of all who have served our nation.
Thank you to all the service men and women who have given their lives to keep us safe here at home. We’ll never forget the sacrifices you’ve all made and owe you a debt we can never repay.
