#The_Marine_And_The_Girl_Next_Door #Chapter2 #Puerto_Rico, - TopicsExpress

#The_Marine_And_The_Girl_Next_Door #Chapter2 #Puerto_Rico, #The_Land_Of_Enchantment The year was 1971, the United States was still scarred with the racial riots of the 1960s during the Civil Rights movement, political assassinations and the Vietnam War. It seemed as the whole world was a mess when I was discharged from the Marine Corps. I was a native New Yorker who had served two tours in Nam. During this time my father (my parents were divorced) had moved to Puerto Rico and founded The Puerto Rico Real Estate Corp., a small business with a big name. When I was asked at Camp Pendleton, where did I plan to go upon my discharge, I had a choice, I could have returned to New York City where I had a job waiting for me in a bank or take a short vacation and visit my dad in Puerto Rico (my mother who had re-married had also moved to the island). I thought about all the horrors of war that I and my fellow men had been through for an ungrateful nation. I thought about how badly and unfair our soldiers were being treated by the media and war protesters. I thought about the discrimination which I had witnessed and been subject to just because I was Puerto Rican. I then decided go to Puerto Rico, not knowing what fate had in store for me. The day was March 28, when I arrived at San Juan International Airport. Here I was, a young 21 year old Marine in my uniform with a chest full of medals waiting for my father to pick me up. Even though I didn’t know much Spanish, since we barely spoke it at home, and the island was hot and humid, it felt great to be in the land where my parents were born. I thought to myself In the United States people could tell me Go Back to Puerto Rico, even though I was born in New York, in Puerto Rico, I figured that no one could be prejudice against me for being Puerto Rican. Well, my father finally arrived and after the required hugging, loaded my bags in his car and took off. #ToBeContinued -Aura-