memoir

 My name is Derrik and I was born February 5th 1988. I grew up in Brockton until i was about sixteen where i moved to Attleboro to live with my dad. When I finally graduated high school I joined the United States Marine Corps as a machine gunner. I married my high school sweet heart on the 24th of August 2008. Shortly after I went back to Camp Lejeune North Carolina where I awaited my deployment with 2nd Battalion 9th Marines. I did a seven month deployment to Ramadi Iraq working as a security/police unit, it was an eye opener and made me appreciate everything we have today in America. The deployment was relatively safe and boring with little contact with any enemy forces. It's difficult to describe the feeling of coming home from a foreign country to see loved ones, it was beyond amazing. while home I drank a lot and partied non-stop, enjoying my time before I had to deploy again. I was put into a squad leader billet and trained my marines for another trip to the middle east. About eight months later we were sent to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan to the Taliban stronghold of Marjah. This deployment made me the man I am today. Day in and day out we were in fire fights against a dedicated Taliban force, I lost close friends and learned not to take anything for granted. While in Afghanistan the living conditions were the worst I've ever endured, sleeping in filth and taking roughly seven showers in seven months made me put into perspective how lucky I really am. After the deployment i got out of the Marine Corps and took a few months off making up for lost time with my wife. Now I currently reside in North Attleboro and attend BCC on Tuesdays and Thursdays.