Early Years
In his own words Swofford describes his younger self, before and during his time in the Marine Corps, as "a reader and a loner".
Born into a military family, Swofford was raised living on a military base. His father had served in Vietnam, and before that his grandfather had fought in World War II. In fact, he was conceived in Honolulu while his father was on a five day break from fighting in Vietnam.
Terrified of being a failure in a 'normal' life, Swofford wanted to join the Marines from an early age, as he saw it as "an entry into manhood". However, Swofford's father was against his joining, and the first of two recruiters to visit were escorted from the house. Swofford's father had said, "I know some things about the military that they don't show you in the brochures."
Read more about this topic: Anthony Swofford
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or years:
“I looked at my daughters, and my boyhood picture, and appreciated the gift of parenthood, at that moment, more than any other gift I have ever been given. For what person, except one’s own children, would want so deeply and sincerely to have shared your childhood? Who else would think your insignificant and petty life so precious in the living, so rich in its expressiveness, that it would be worth partaking of what you were, to understand what you are?”
—Gerald Early (20th century)
“The years when we are parenting teenagers are the high point, the crest when everything seems to be in bright colors and in ten-foot letters.”
—Jean Jacobs Speizer. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Collective, ch. 4 (1978)