Dear Mom: I Joined the Marines

Length 01:49
Licensor Curie Youth Radio
Producer(s) Curie Youth Radio
Formats First-person essay, Interstitial, Youth Produced
Topics Family, War, Youth
Produced December, 2005
Added to PRX July 17, 2005
 

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Summary:

An apology and a plea for a mother's understanding when a son joins the Marines.

Website:

http://www.geocities.com/curieyouthradio

Additional Credits and Funding:

Omar Macias, a member of Curie Youth Radio in 2005, wrote and produced this piece after he joined the Marines.

Tones:

Intimate, Real, Sad

Language:

English

Description:

Omar joined the Marines this year. His piece tries to end a battle with his mother about signing up in the first place.

This letter to a mother shows us the love that remains between a mother and son who cannot find a common ground. It gives us a glimpse of the fear and anxiety of a parent of a new recruit as well as the bittersweet certainty of an eighteen-year-old who naturally believes in his own immortality.

This piece was broadcast on Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ 91.5, on March 18, 2005.