Semper Fi!

It wasn't hard to read between the lines. The wound in his abdomen was a euphemism for Marsallis having castrated him, cut off both his cock and balls. That he died from bleeding out means that Marsallis told him just what caused the attack, if he remained conscious after the wound and before he died.

Marsallis took a bigger risk than I did. I took a sniper shot from cover, but Marsallis personally confronted Marshall, and inflicted a mortal but still not instantly fatal wound on him. His exposure to getting caught was far greater than mine. That kind of wound meant that Marsallis had blood on him and his clothes, and that was potential evidence against him.

But nothing came of it; he must've been able to get away, burn the clothes and dispose of the knife. With no reason to suspect Marsallis had any grudge against Marshall, any DNA he left on the scene wouldn't match up with anything. Yeah, the Marine Corps had DNA on everybody, but there was no reason to check Marsallis' with any samples found on the site.

March 4, 2019:

Traci and I were cheering as our son Michael scored the winning basket, on a power layup, in the District Tournament. A solid 6'4" tall, broad shouldered and strong even at just 14 years old, he dominated on the court.

We never DNA tested him to see if asshole had been the sperm donor, so, technically, we didn't actually know. I can go months now without remembering that Michael isn't my biological son, and he looks so much like Traci that there's never been any outside questioning. We have three other kids, and don't treat Michael any differently.

We're back at Lejeune these days. I've made that most coveted rank in the Marine Corps, Gunnery Sergeant, and there's no one who holds his head higher than a gunny.

Three more tours, one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, made me a hard man, but if anything will soften the heart of a Marine, it's seeing his kids do him proud. Traci had a clearance when she worked in the commander's office in Little Creek, and that helped her get a similar job on base here. We've lived as simple a life as you can on a Marine Corps Base, and I'm going to make my thirty years.

Life is good for honorable men!