From then on, for me, it was just busy times with the Medal, but I had good teachers. A lot of the generals told me, 'Don't blow it. Watch your drink… - Jay R. Vargas

I had very few problems. I was always down at the grass roots with the enlisted people. I wanted to lead them. I wanted them to know that I cared for them, you know, I was gonna take care of them. And I still get calls, guys saying, 'God, Colonel, I wish to hell we could all get together again.' And a couple of times we have. We've had reunions, you know.

They're very confident people. It's amazing. We all came from little bitty towns. A lot of us came from very poor families. They're down-to-earth people. They're not braggers. They just seem like they were put into a position for a very short period and whatever came out of them came out ten times stronger than you would ever expect your body or person to do in a particular situation. What drove me was I cared so much for my Marines. That was my family, and my responsibility was to lead them. That's a strong loyalty that comes from every Medal recipient I've met, and they're patriotic. It's like those country-and-western songs I grew up with. You know, they love kids, dogs, and all women.

I had thirty great years in the Marine Corps. I accomplished my goals. If they would have let me stay till a hundred years old, I would have stayed. I loved it that much. I was basically very lucky to command everything from a platoon to a company to a regiment of five thousand Marines. I was always in command, and I loved leading and setting an example and taking care of Marines. It was in my blood.