As a 7th generation Texan (at least; that's where we lose track of the ancestors) and a diplobrat, you disappoint me, Allison.

I grew up knowing Marines to be the young people who were prepared to do what it took to protect me and my family if something went wrong. (I recognize that there is a lot more to the job than that.) I never doubted for a minute that they would do that, and I'm well aware that that responsibility weighed heavily on at least some of them, because I've been sat down for serious talks about what to do in case the embassy was attacked -- and what to do was pretty much to get out of the line of fire and let the Marines slow any attackers down long enough for the people behind the steel door to destroy sensitive documents.

I admired those people throughout my youth, and I admired them even more when I was roughly the same age as many of them and asked myself whether I was prepared to sign up for a job that exposed me to that kind of risk on behalf of people I hadn't even met yet.

I know that right now an awful lot of people believe that military personnel are entitled to special treatment in a wide range of situations, and I share a few of those beliefs. But I do not believe (and do not expect others to believe) that having been in the Corps 19 years ago entitles you to special privileges at Radio Shack. Not on Memorial Day and not even on Veterans Day.

And I'd have liked to think that as a Texan and a retired Marine, you were better than to try to pull that.