Bradley Patrick Dunlap

My hero is my brother, Brad who I can also say is one of my best friends. Ever since I could remember I have always looked up to him. He is the oldest as well as the perfect kid in the family and my other brother and I always find ourselves looking up to him. Perfect grades, on the football team, all kinds of different friends, the list goes on. You'd thik that any kid would get jealous of your older brother or sister accomplishing so much, but it is the total opposite, I love to see him succeed. So I guess you can imagine how I felt when he said he was going into the Marines? Well, two words...Proud and honored.

Don't get me wrong, when he said he was joining I was sad and a little frustrated but the reason why he was going in was the reason for my feeling of acknowledgment. Well, first you have to understand what kind of a person Brad is. All through his high school years I thought of Brad as kind of a rebel without a cause. He got good grades and was doing academic activities but outside of school and football he was just this fun, simple, hippy kid. That's the reason why I admired the fact that he was going into the Marines. I knew his thoughts on war and freedom, yet he was joining an army and (as I thought) was kind of controlled by the government. But Brad wanted to be known as a person who didn't pay attention to all of the anti-america propaganda and still be a free-spirited, happy person.

Brad, as well as the rest of my family lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana until 1999 when we made the big move to Golden, Colorado. Indiana was a very dreary and depressing state and we just couldn't stand the weather and the overall atmosphere out there. So Golden, Colorado it was. The mountains, sunshine and overall beauty out here was a big change for my family, Especially Brad. Brad had just got done with his eighth grade year so he was going to have to start out as a Freshman in High School. You have to remember that the Catholic school we attended just the previous year before moving had only about 100 people in attendance...Brad's new school now had a little over a thousand! But he made new friends quite easily, graduated, and moved on to the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated in San Diego California as a Private First Class. He is currently living in Pensacola, Florida where he is doing more basic training for wherever they decide to send him.

Brad now is 20 and will be 21 on May 21st. He is alive and well in the Marines and feeling healthier and happier about this life decision than ever. Of course he has had rough training, but now he gets to live with the encouragement of his drill instructors and fellow Marines. He will be home for his birthday and I can't wait to see him! I know that his stay will be short, but when he leaves I want to be happy knowing the fact that his decision was made with a purpose, and that purpose is for the safety and help of others in other countries.

Like I said, Brad is and will always be one of my best friends. He is such a special person and has such a bright and booming personality. I know that he will succeed with whatever he decides to do in life. I think that there should be more people out there that have the same perspective on our armies and the people that are trying to do somethnig about it. So I end my letter with the Marines motto, "Semper Fidelis" or always prepared.