Gabriela Quintero

Mr.Brown
APUSH
5/22/19

US marine corps interview -

Reynaldo Tapia
 The Marine Corps attains an important position part of Amphibious warfare which is a type
of offensive military operation that uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a
threatening shore on a beach1. The corps was formed by the Continental Marines, which were the
naval infantry force of the American Revolutionary War. Continental congress formed the corpse
officially on November 10, 1775, and it was disbanded after the war was over. It came back in June
of 1978 and has been going ever since, increasing in size and rigor for those enlisted. Most people
join because they want to give back by serving for their country, for the need to be part of a noble
cause, to face a challenge that will improve their leadership qualities, and much more. Reynaldo
Tapia, having grown up in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, joined for the simple reason which was that
he wanted to prove he was just as American as anyone else and patriotic about the wonderful
country that was also his to call home. In an interview with him about his experience, he gives an in
depth look into every aspect of being in the Marines. The marines has made him into the proud
father, brother, son, uncle, and leader he is today. This year he had the monumental achievement of
attaining the highest level of academic degree, his doctorate degree. My uncle had a life altering
experience in the United States Marine Corps which he says he’d do all over again in a heartbeat.
The interview:
Why did you join?
He begins explaining that by being a hispanic person in New jersey, he wanted to
demonstrate that he was part of America even though his name was distinctively hispanic, he could
still be american enough. So he developed at a young age the idea that the best way to prove to this
country that he’s a part of it, that he loves it, and wants to serve it would be to join the most
hardcore military branch that exists which is the United States marine corps. He started off with
zero experience on the military, how to join the military, or that you could get paid. An example he
gives is when he enlisted to the marine core, the sargent told him he saw that he had college credits
and that would make him an “E-2”, and when he asked what that was, the sergeant told him that it's
a higher rank and pays more. His reaction was “wow you get paid for this? I was just happy to
serve.” At that time, he felt very conflicted about his role as an american being a first generation
Latino immigrant, all he knew is that he wanted to demonstrate to society and the US that he was an
American and the best way to do that was by wearing the uniform. He sensed that there was a
rejection going on towards Hispanics, and he states that it keeps on happening today: Hispanics,
just like African Americans, are not looked at as Americans, so we have to prove to society that we
are.

How was the experience?

He says that the experience was great, and having had no contact with areas in the US
besides cities like New York, Jersey City, Miami… etc, he feels as if he got the opportunity to
really figure out what the US is through the marine corps. The best experience he had when he was

1
"Mission of the Marine Corps." United States Marine Corps, Accessed May 22, 2019.
https://www.marines.com/who-we-are/our-purpose.html.
part of the marine corps was the fact that he learned how to be Latino. He realized that there was a
difference between an East coast Latino and a West coast Latino. He further explains that West
coast Latinos take their Latinx to a different level. Brown Pride was a big thing for them. He tells of
some chicano friends he had come and say things he had never heard of in his life. They were
extremely proud of where they come from, of being latino, being Mexican American, and they
would say “We didn't cross the border the border crossed us.” He emphasized that these were
patriotic American marines who would also say “I'm an Aztec warrior, you are an Inca warrior,
your last name is not ‘tah-pee-ah’, its Tapia”. They would correct him and remind him that he has
to say his own name with Latino pride. Them being so proud of their Latinx heritage is what taught
him how to be proud of his ethnicity, race, and brown skin in order to embrace it. The best
experience was that he got to learn from these chicano marines and he got to learn what real
America is. He got to know black people from the South, West coast, and midwest. He got to know
white people from different walks of life, from the South or West, all having different types of
mentalities. He got to experience this level of diversity America has and see the different cultures
within cultures.

Would you advise young people to join?

He states that if you truly want to understand the US, then yes. Unless you've always
dreamed of being part of the marine corp, it’s important to keep in mind that it's physically and
mentally demanding you have to really want it and be prepared for it. However, he would advise
those young people to join reserve, not active duty. He would not recommend any smart individual
to do active duty, but if they are not ready for college or immature then do active duty, 4 years of
military service, then go to college. He would not advise people to take on a whole career in the
military because we have too many opportunities in the east coast when it comes to schools and
upward mobility. If young people want that military experience, he advises to go reserve which is
going one weekend a month while you are in college. This is what my Tia Fabi, Tio Steve, and Tio
Isabel did in their lives. He recommended many of those younger cousins of his to join the air
national guard which is much easier and not like the military at all. If they did that, then they would
get into a college for free where tuition would be waiting for them. He suggests that if you like the
career, go in as an officer after you finish your four years of college, because the military needs
lieutenants and high level people of color in the military services which are very conservative.
He would not recommend women or people of the LGBT community to join because there are high
rates of sexual harassment towards them and the military is still sadly a very homophobic
institution.

Here are some supporting facts and context about his answer:
 There have been women in the United States marines since the year 1918, and starting from
2016, women make up about 8% of all active enlisted Marines2, along with about 7% being active
officers. These percentages prove the marine corps to have the lowest ratio of women in all of the
United States military branches.
Along with that, the annual report on sexual assault within the United States military has
about 998 reported cases in the marine corps, which is 14.9% more than the year before.
Under The Clinton administration, the “Don’t Ask Dont Tell” 3policy was established which
prevent military personnel from discriminating against closeted homosexual or bisexual military
servers, while still banning any openly gay ones. Then under Obama’s presidency, he helped get rid
of the enforcement of the US military’s ban on openly gay service members.

Tell me about someone special you met

He talked about two people he met that are special: Corporal Durk and Corporal Elkson. He
explained that they both had a bromance, they were always together and hanging out. They were
good friends, and were perfect marines. They had high standards, were not prejudice or racists, and
they were willing to help out anyone. He gives the example of when there was someone falling out
on a run they would run all the way back and motivate them. They were physical trainers and gave
advice to the smallest of details. When it came to weapons they were the best; they could dismantle
any weapon and put it back together and they were expert sharpshooters. They were always willing
to teach and coach the younger people, they were seen as everyone's heroes. They had great
leadership skills and their approach to guiding young marines was humble and encouraging. He
applies the way they teach people in his life today. He has great admiration for them, years have
gone by, recently he asked about them today, expecting them to be master sergeants, but he was
informed that they left the marines, and currently live together in San Francisco as a couple. They
were gay and came into the marine corp when there was a lot of homophobia going on. The gay
people could only serve as long as they didnt say that they were gay and were not questioned. These
two corporals were fed up with it and left. He adds that when there are discriminatory laws and
policies, it deeply affects the institutions because those were the best marines he had ever
encountered, and the marine corp lost two excellent marines because of these policies. These
policies were changed under the Obama administration. He was the person that allows the gays and
trans people to serve in the military without being ashamed of who they were.

More context:

2
"Heritage Press International." Women Marines, Accessed May 22, 2019,
http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/women_marines.htm
3
Campaign, H. (2019), The Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" | Human Rights Campaign,
[online] Human Rights Campaign, Available at: https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-repeal-of-
dont-ask-dont-tell [Accessed 22 May 2019].
On June 30 or 2016, it was announced that US service members could no longer be denied
enlistment, discharged, forced to separate, or denied continuation of service for being transgender.
Starting in 2018, transgender people were allowed to join the military.

Is there a specific story you would like to share?

There was this nice, white, and well trained sargeant that he looked up to. He told my tio
that he should get his five time license. Licenses are given to drive huge vehicles, and after being in
the marines becoming a truck driver pays a lot of money. He really pushed for him to do this and
told him college is a waste of time for him, and not to worry about it, but my tio would tell him he’s
going to college and becoming a professional when he leaves the marines, he did not want to be a
truck driver. One day he caught him talking to a group of other white marines, telling them to get
out of the marine corp and when they're done with their four years. He told the white marines they
needed to get out, get their college degrees, and become engineers, accountants, businessman.. Ect.
He was disappointed after that because this was a guy he admired and he could see the form of
racism taking place when he’d tell the hispanics and black people to become truck drivers and stay
in the marine corp, but tell the white people to leave as soon as possible and become leaders and
influential people with high levels of education. This form of institutional racism continues to exist
in the military. These social structures are still there.

How did (does) your military experience affect your life today?
When you become a marine you become fearless. You’re not afraid of anything: not death,
not scared of standing up to what’s wrong in the world, you’re not scared, and the feeling is
completely lost. You’re not scared anymore of your life, but instead of your loved ones being
harmed. It changed his life and made him the person he is, the hispanic man he is today, the fighter,
the rebellious person he is, and he would do it all over again. He could talk about the injustices and
the things he saw that were wrong there: extreme forms of bullying and harassment; he's lived
through it, he stood up to it sometimes, sometimes he couldn't because he was too small of a player.
They say that once youre a marine you're always a marine and overall it was a good experience and
he'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Work Cited
 Campaign, H. (2019). The Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" | Human Rights Campaign.
[online] Human Rights Campaign. Available at: https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-repeal-of-dont-
ask-dont-tell [Accessed 22 May 2019].
"Heritage Press International." Women Marines. Accessed May 22, 2019.
http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/women_marines.htm.
"Mission of the Marine Corps." United States Marine Corps. Accessed May 22, 2019.
https://www.marines.com/who-we-are/our-purpose.html.
Marines.mil. (2019). Marines.mil - The Official Website of the United States Marine Corps.
[online] Available at: https://www.marines.mil/ [Accessed 22 May 2019].
Tapia, Reynaldo. “US Marine Corps interview- Reynaldo Tapia.” Interview by Gabriela M.
Quintero. May, 22, 2019.