S.A.S.S. (A Military Support Group)

Loving a Marine

Loving any man in the military is a difficult chore. Loving a devil dog is no different. Meet Samantha Olfert, a Marine Fiancee, as she shares advice and her personal experiences.
 

Personal Experience

- Samantha Olfert

                  My name is Samantha and I am engaged to a US Marine. I have been with him sense September 14th 2007. We were seniors in high school when we started dating so I was with him for almost a year before he left for boot camp. So I have been with him through everything the Marine Corps can throw at you. And it hasn’t been easy. When he was in boot camp, I really didn’t know what to do with myself. I was so used to seeing him every day! Some days all I could do was just lay on the floor I was just so .. empty. I wrote him a letter every single day. And when I first saw hi we were in our town’s applebee’s parking lot.. and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world seeing him in that uniform, and I was able to spend the next month with him because of his leave and he was given RA duty. But that month passed to quickly like it always does.

                Then came MCT. It was just as hard to say “see you later” to him when he left for MCT. I could not stop crying.. I even hyperventilated.. but he was able to use his phone on the weekends so I was thankful for that. MCT was easier to deal with because of that but at the same time wasn’t much different from boot camp because I wasn’t able to see him at all. When he graduated from MCT he was scheduled to leave on a plane that night to Missouri for him MOS training school. I had to work so there wasn’t a way that I was able to see him. But when I got off work at 10pm .. he was there waiting for me in the parking lot and I was able to spend 3 hours with him before he left. :]

                MOS school was difficult for us. I was able to talk to him every day after he was done with his class for the day. Missouri is 2 hours ahead of where I live so we were on different time zones. This is one of the things that made it hard for us. He was always tired or sleeping when I was able to talk to him. We were always fighting too because of the distance. Texting and phone calls just weren’t enough sometimes. But we were able to figure things out and work them out. :]My Marine was there for MOS for three months and when it was coming to an end they were told where they were going to be stationed.. we were so terrified that he was not going to get Pendleton and we prayed and prayed.. one night I prayed and told God that I know no matter what he would take care of us and was in his hands. The very next day Alex had good news for me! He got Pendleton!!

                A few weeks later he moved onto base here in California and was put into 7th ESB there on base. I was able to see him every weekend from then on! God is great! But then his deployment training started. I guess I didn’t really realize what he was preparing for. But he would be gone training for a month and then home for a month then gone for a month home for a month gone for 5 weeks and then he was home for a month and 2 of those weeks was for his predeployment leave. We spent every minute we could together. And of course, the tension of knowing he was leaving for seven months was making us fight a bit, but when we realized it we stopped.. one night I just asked him if he could just hold me.. so he held me in my car cause all I could do was cry.

                The day came.. November 7, 2009. I was able to bring my best friend at the time with me to say “see you later” and we got to spend the whole day with him until he got on that bus. All I can say is.. I never have felt so much pain in my life. I read a shirt online one time that said “you don’t know pain til you watch your loved one leave for war.” It couldn’t be more true. All I wanted to do was fall down to my knees and cry. I felt that I had my heart ripped out of me. But I walked to my car with my friend, and we were able to follow his bus all the way up to march air force base and then we went on our way home. Luckily it was the same freeway we had to take to get home.

                The next seven months were.. different. It took some getting used to but I did adjust to him being away. I did get calls and im’s. and those were the best ever. I always looked forward to it. But I also did feel empty. I felt like he took my heart with him and he kept it. To me It was worse than being broken up with. Because when you’re broken up with at least you’re able to mend you’re heart over time, but I feel that when they take your heart and keep it you just  feel that ach around the edges where you’re heart is supposed to be. I felt .. numb the whole time. But life does go on sadly. I kept myself busy with work school and church and the time did pass. Then he came home!

                June 2, 2010 is the day I got to see my love. It was the best day of my life! I stayed up so late the night before so maybe I’d sleep late.. ya that didn’t happen! I was so excited I woke up at 7am and I wasn’t supposed to see him til 9:30pm! But luckily our friends mom was in town (because her son was coming home as well) and we went down to base found the area where we were going to reunite with our marines and then hung out downtown Oceanside. We ended up seeing a movie to kill time and that really helped!  We met up with my fiancé’s mom at 6:30 in the area we were supposed to and we waited until 9:30 when their busses pulled up. I cannot really explain how I felt. But it was the best feeling in the world. I felt like he never left me the moment I hugged him again and that I finally had my heart back! I was the happiest girl in the world!

                And I’m not going to lie. We had so many fights and problems when he came home readjusting to each other. But in a few weeks we were able to work everything out and we’ve never been happie,r or a better couple. He was able to spend a few weeks on leave and we did so much together along with my cousins who were out visiting.  June 25th was his 20th birthday and all he wanted to do was hang out at home and then go to dinner (at applebee’s where we reunited after boot camp) so I said ok. But I kept asking him if he wanted to do anything but he said no. So at dinner his mom asked me if I would run to the store right there with her so I did. When I came back our food was ready. I had gotten a salad and they put my dressing in a cup on top of the salad.. so I thought that was odd but.. ok a different place to put it.. lol so I picked it up looked in it and then almost poured it on when I saw it! He put the ring on it! Then he took the ring slid out of the booth and then went down on one knee in front of everyone and proposed! AND he was in his blues! It was so wonderful! I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with my Marine.

                Now he is getting ready to deploy again. And after going through all of this I know how to handle it and we don’t fight at all anymore! Life is wonderful. No matter how little I see him. Just having him in my life is enough to smile every day. I’m so in love with my Marine!