West Saint Paul Antiques

     Within this elite fighting force there are men born to even surpass the requirements of the "regular elite" Marine. These men possess something down deep that forces them to excel at everything they attempt. Where others run until they drop, these men run until they drop, then crawl until someone tells them to stop. These "Elite" of the "Elite" are trained in a way that the regular Marine isn't trained. They are trained to operate under water, on the ground, and in the air. They emerge out of submarines, repel off mountains, and hang suspended in mid air under choppers by a thin nylon line. No matter where the place, they get in when they have to and get out when the job is finished.

    When it is their turn to walk through The Valley of the Shadow they are always outnumbered and out gunned. A team of 6 men sneakin & peekin against however many men the enemy can throw against them. 6 men going where no one else in the Battalion or Division have gone. 6 pairs of eyes and 6 pairs of ears for those units, ready and willing to take on any comers who are in the valley.

    Those who make it across the valley will cross the mountain and enter the next valley armed with the memories of lost brothers and a zest for vengeance. More times than not they do not fight for a cause but rather fight for and because of each other. They wage a hellish war in which good and bad memories will follow them to their grave but would do it all over again given the chance.

     When the time of these fierce fighting men is past they eagerly await the arrival of the new batch of themselves they term "The New Breed". This breed is better equipped and have new marvelous "toys" to play with that make the mouth water. Oh, what better fighters they could have been had they had those toys? If only they could have had those toys some of their brothers would still be alive to look on, admire, and wish they could join this new breed.

    This new breed is not a new breed but the same breed that has gone before. Each generation is a continuation of the previous breed just with different toys to play with. New faces and names all with that same desire to run until they drop, then crawl until someone tells them to stop.

    The breed has been called by many names given them by those who came to do battle in that Valley of the Shadow. They are phantoms and ghosts. 6 fighting men who glide through the valley so silently but carry Hell, fire, and brimstone in their hands. When the time is right they will announce that Marine Recon is there to walk among the Philistines. May God have mercy on those people because Recon won't.

    As a Marine is a Marine for life, a Recon Marine is Recon for life. They are a breed unto themselves. After all, if everyone could be Recon then it wouldn't be Recon.