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TITLE: Lesson Learned | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn K. Smith
07/27/15
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Lesson Learned

When I looked behind me, a monster wave was towering over my husband and I as we held on for dear life. This was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away from all the stresses of military life but I knew at that moment, it may prove to be the most dangerous one of our married life.

The first year of marriage is often described as the roughest one. I was only 19 and he was 21 and the Marine Corps had taken over our very existence. We were hours away from family, living on base, and trying to adapt to a life unlike any we had ever encountered. My then fiancé, Jay, had signed up for military service. At this time Vietnam was at the height of the war and he felt like this was something he wanted to do for his country. We had gotten married within two weeks of his induction and I would not see him again for several months. Upon finishing basic training, we moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina to Camp Lejeune Marine Base and then the real training began. He was gone from morning until dusk and often longer. I was alone and tried to keep myself as busy as possible so as to not slip into
depression.

Once he was placed on regular duty, our life settle down somewhat and we were able to be together more, however, we were scraping by on a corporal’s salary. Unlike the city, there was not much to do on base. One weekend morning we took off to the public beach. My husband was the driver in our family. I had never really driven a car and did not even have a driver’s license. So he climbed in the driver’s seat after tossing our raft in the car. I climbed in and away we went just so glad to be together. My husband was not a good swimmer; however I had been swimming since I was a young girl. None of that, however, prepared me for what was coming!

Onslow Beach, during this time of day, was mostly deserted. It was an overcast day with a rather brisk breeze blowing. We parked our car, jumped out and ran toward the ocean, so glad to be away from base. Kicking around in the water, we were splashing and enjoying ourselves. We climbed on our inflated raft, facing toward the shore. We draped ourselves over the middle, kicking and paddling with our legs. Gradually we begin to notice a rather strong undercurrent pulling us along and suddenly realized that we had gotten a little too far away from shore. Waves had begun to swell higher than our heads and we paddled faster and more furiously to get to safety.

This, however, was the moment of no return. There was no reason to paddle any harder. As I looked behind me, a ten-foot wave was bearing down on us and I yelled, “Hang-on!” That didn’t do us any good either. Immediately we were washed off the raft and I remember turning over and over on the bottom of the ocean, my thighs and knees scrapping on the sand and shells. The whole time my mind was on finding my husband. I knew he didn’t like water all that much and that he probably was terrified when he couldn’t find me. When I came up out of the water, long enough to catch my breath, I heard him calling my name. We were in close proximity and I reached out, grabbing his hand. Reassuring him, I said, “It’s ok”, “I’m ok”, I’m right here.” He was standing up in ankle-deep water but he could not see. He had lost his glasses! Without his glasses, my husband is almost blind. Then the thought hit me! How would we get home? I didn’t have a driver’s license and he couldn’t see long distance without his glasses! There was no one we could call, and back then, no cell phones.

God intended for us to depend on each other and to learn a valuable lesson. Jay sat behind the wheel and drove while I watched the road for any cars, people and signs. I would tell him when to slow down and when to turn. Thankfully, we made it home safely. He got new glasses and I got my license. However, we’re still depending on each other for forty-six years now.

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