It doesn’t seem like long ago I was writing about the loss of a dear friend of mine – my best friend in fact Donald Edmonds.

So, here we are a few months later and I get word that a fellow Marine was killed in an accident this weekend. I don’t know all of the details, but really they are irrelevant. The fact that he is no longer on this earth is what is eating at me.

Joe Mack Crow – a man of an endless smile.

I met Joe Mack shortly after arriving at Quantico in 2001. He was the type of guy that could always put a smile on your face, and did so quite often. I think we first hit it off for our love of baseball…. PLAYING baseball. Joe Mack had won a state championship in high school and was so proud of that championship ring. Rightfully so, because it was gorgeous.

From there our friendship grew to include playing poker. To that – I say thanks for getting me addicted to Texas Hold’em where I have now lost more money than I care to disclose! It was always fun to play you though because you were damn good.

I will also never forget watching Wrestlemania in Luke’s room. The one where the main event was Hulk Hogan vs The Rock in what we called the “Passing of the Torch” match. What is unfortunate is The Rock is no longer wrestling today.

But a memory that I think about often is when we started the nWm (New World Marines). We had our shirts and our nicknames… and our motto… “4 and Out”

You will greatly be missed Joe Mack – just remember…. “We are IN Control!”