The L3gend You Don’t Know You Are

This photo captures a hard day in my life. It captures the face of a young man who has made dedications to live his life for service. I’m hugging my oldest son who is just weeks away from his third birthday. My 20-year-old wife is out of frame holding our two-day-old son. My dad, a Vietnam War veteran, is unsuccessfully fighting back tears, along with my mom and brother.

I was a 22-year-old Marine Reservist who had been activated along with 70 other Marines from my unit. The call was short and terse, the day before Thanksgiving. I was just a few months out of the local law enforcement academy and beginning my career as a Deputy Sheriff. At that moment, very few things were certain. To say the least, my mental state was, at best, scattered.

In very short order, I was reminded by a mentor that we all had a job to do. Younger Marines were depending on me to lead. My family was depending on me to come back someday. In the following months, my limits were tested. Six months and a short war later, I returned home changed, mentally tougher. A state that would serve me well after my enlistment was over and the next 20 years during much darker days in my law enforcement career.

What I didn’t realize until a recent reunion with several of my Marines was the impression I left with them. These men, most of whom I hadn’t seen in over 30 years and had well exceeded my achievements within the Marine Corps and civilian life, told me how I, a nobody Corporal doing his job, had inspired them. How a 22-year-old kid exemplified maturity, leadership, determination for them. I didn’t know but many of them quietly kept tabs on my career and some followed the same path, because of their experiences with me.

I guess my point is this: being L3gendary sometimes means having no idea you are in others’ eyes. Sometimes you’ll never know. Sometimes you’ll hear it from those you inspired and you’ll feel some strong emotions of the unexpected acknowledgement. L3egends don’t set out with the idea of being L3gendary. They just do what comes naturally and the lore builds around those lasting impressions.