Marine’s plan to focus on his family falls apart
“My last day in the Marine Corps also turned out to be the last day for my family.”
“I took a year break after graduating high school before joining the Marines. I served about 10 years. I was stationed in California and deployed twice to Iraq.
“My son was born just before my second tour. I was there for his birth in October, but by January I was gone. So I saw his first smile on a video, his first laugh on a video, his first steps on a video. That’s when I decided I had to go home. I had to get out.
“Because of the war at the time, we were on stop-loss where nobody gets out. I had to wait almost 11 months longer than I had planned. Unfortunately, my last day in the Marine Corps also turned out to be the last day for my family.
“I knew it was rocky. I was juggling three balls. I was a husband, a father and a Marine. And I was having trouble juggling all three. I didn’t want to part with any of them. But the one I was most willing to part with was the Marine Corps. I had decided to put that aside and concentrate on being a father and a husband.
“But sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It was amicable, though. My ex-wife and I are still friends. I still call my son. He’s 17 and going to be a senior in high school. We talk. We chat online, in text messages. But I haven’t seen him in a couple of years. That’s the real hard part.”
— Robert Ortiz
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