WEBVTT 00:05.880 --> 00:07.715 - Marines, Sergeant Major Ruiz here. 00:07.715 --> 00:09.118 I have a message for you, 00:09.118 --> 00:12.556 but just give me 60 seconds, I'm going to give you a personal story. 00:12.556 --> 00:15.850 It connects to the message. 00:15.850 --> 00:17.213 Fifteen years ago, 00:17.213 --> 00:19.204 I was the Lima Company 1st sergeant 00:19.204 --> 00:21.435 within 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 00:21.435 --> 00:23.181 and we were deployed to 00:23.181 --> 00:25.088 Nowzad, Afghanistan. 00:25.088 --> 00:28.486 To any Marine who was in that company with me, 00:28.486 --> 00:31.278 I miss you and I think about you each and every day. 00:31.278 --> 00:34.793 On this specific day, October 28th, 2009, 00:34.793 --> 00:36.834 I was the 00:36.834 --> 00:39.223 vehicle commander for the Shock Trauma Platoon. 00:39.223 --> 00:41.670 Then, we held the 00:41.670 --> 00:44.269 ER doctor in the back with our beloved Corpsmen 00:44.269 --> 00:47.123 and the security detail that would get to the point of injury 00:47.123 --> 00:50.274 should and when things happen. 00:50.274 --> 00:53.185 IED strikes happened that morning. 00:53.185 --> 00:55.866 And as we made our way there, 00:55.866 --> 00:58.092 there were more IED strikes. 00:58.092 --> 01:00.593 As we dismounted and attempted to 01:00.593 --> 01:02.866 get to the injured Marines, 01:02.866 --> 01:05.133 there were more IED strikes. 01:05.133 --> 01:07.009 And so the day developed into 01:07.009 --> 01:10.682 a very, very long and painful day. 01:13.330 --> 01:16.914 There was a moment that's seared in my brain. 01:17.949 --> 01:20.308 I have the casualties now 01:20.308 --> 01:23.552 in the back of the Shock Trauma Platoon vehicle 01:23.552 --> 01:26.104 and I need to get to the LZ. 01:26.620 --> 01:28.407 But one of the vehicles 01:28.407 --> 01:30.764 that was supposed to clear the way for me 01:30.764 --> 01:33.254 had also hit an IED. 01:33.254 --> 01:36.868 And what I can see right now as I'm thinking, 01:36.868 --> 01:39.947 as I can try to explain what's in my head, 01:39.947 --> 01:42.225 the movie reel in my head, 01:42.225 --> 01:44.511 is the banging 01:44.511 --> 01:47.999 against the back hatch of the vehicle. 01:47.999 --> 01:50.374 Remember the hatches that used to come down like this? 01:51.495 --> 01:53.426 And there's this Marine who's 01:53.426 --> 01:55.846 Spartan-kicking the door open, 01:55.846 --> 01:57.475 over and over. 01:57.475 --> 02:00.494 And he comes out of that, off the ramp, 02:00.494 --> 02:02.503 and with his minesweeper 02:02.503 --> 02:05.123 points at me and basically says, 02:05.123 --> 02:06.470 follow me, 02:06.470 --> 02:08.134 and clears the road 02:08.134 --> 02:10.062 for me to get to the LZ. 02:10.062 --> 02:12.377 Just watching that Marine 02:12.377 --> 02:15.927 who just suffered God knows what, 02:15.927 --> 02:18.323 concussion, whatever, 02:19.548 --> 02:21.782 break through to get to me, 02:21.782 --> 02:23.218 not thinking about themselves, 02:23.218 --> 02:25.401 will forever be burned in my brain. 02:25.401 --> 02:27.444 The aftermath of day was 02:27.444 --> 02:29.295 11 casualties, 02:29.295 --> 02:31.685 from routine to urgent 02:31.685 --> 02:33.521 to killed in action. 02:33.521 --> 02:35.420 October 28th 02:35.420 --> 02:37.276 was just one day for me, 02:37.276 --> 02:40.448 and for you who are listening to me right now, 02:40.448 --> 02:42.352 you have your own date 02:42.352 --> 02:44.787 that's burned in your brain. 02:44.787 --> 02:46.758 One after another. 02:46.758 --> 02:49.190 As you remember, in Helmand Province, 02:49.190 --> 02:52.508 that was, for a while, a normal day. 02:52.508 --> 02:55.153 Everyone that day faced danger 02:55.153 --> 02:57.456 and chaos and tragic misfortune. 02:57.456 --> 03:00.829 But our Marines got after it like they've always done, 03:00.829 --> 03:02.717 like they always will do. 03:02.717 --> 03:04.940 It's a story for me that I'll never forget. 03:04.940 --> 03:07.244 And this was common in Nowzad 03:07.244 --> 03:09.048 and all over the Helmand Province. 03:09.048 --> 03:11.666 Thousands of you have your own stories to tell. 03:11.666 --> 03:13.224 Marines, 03:13.224 --> 03:15.963 and when I say Marines, I'm speaking to those 03:15.963 --> 03:17.694 in and out of uniform, 03:17.694 --> 03:20.235 today the Secretary of the Navy announced 03:20.235 --> 03:22.241 that the next big-deck amphib, 03:22.241 --> 03:23.950 the LHA 10, 03:23.950 --> 03:26.385 will be named the USS Helmand Province. 03:26.385 --> 03:29.140 This name not only honors the battles won 03:29.140 --> 03:31.612 and the successes of our units in the Helmand Province, 03:31.612 --> 03:33.700 but it also honors the names of those 03:33.700 --> 03:36.324 who left blood, sweat, tears, 03:36.324 --> 03:38.573 and even their lives on the battlefield. 03:38.573 --> 03:41.919 The stories of what Marines did in combat are epic 03:41.919 --> 03:43.897 and more often today 03:43.897 --> 03:45.555 are not shared enough. 03:45.897 --> 03:48.335 Soon, our stories of Helmand Province 03:48.335 --> 03:49.908 will be etched in steel, 03:49.908 --> 03:52.494 representing the fighting spirit of Marines. 03:52.494 --> 03:54.659 The legacy of our beloved Marines 03:54.659 --> 03:56.651 who were killed or wounded in action 03:56.651 --> 03:58.800 during combat operations in Afghanistan 03:58.800 --> 04:01.866 lives on in the namesake of this amphib warship. 04:01.866 --> 04:04.718 But make no mistake that when you see her 04:04.718 --> 04:07.494 and you see the name that she bears, 04:07.494 --> 04:10.657 the warrior spirit of every United States Marine 04:10.657 --> 04:12.986 who served in the Helmand Province 04:12.986 --> 04:15.749 lives within the soul of this vessel. 04:16.200 --> 04:19.070 May she cruise the seas and flex her military might 04:19.070 --> 04:20.812 for generations to come. 04:20.812 --> 04:23.528 Helmand Province is a chapter in our history 04:23.528 --> 04:26.922 and our best days are just over the horizon. 04:26.922 --> 04:28.721 Semper fidelis, Marines. 04:28.721 --> 04:30.025 Oorah.