cover story
“You reach a time
when there’s nothing
left to say to one an
other. You want to say
something, but just
don’t know what.”
— Tania Fauquet,
Gordon Slaton’s
fiancee
S urrounded by green military gear, duffle bags and fatigues,
Gordon Slaton packs his belongings and prepares to with
draw from Texas A&M University.
Just a few weeks ago, Slaton headed back from his hometown of
Los Angeles to start his second semester at A&M. Now, within a mat
ter of hours, he'll be leaving college to psyche himself up for the
possibility of engaging in war.
"I came back ready to go to school, but with what’s going on in
Saudi Arabia, it doesn’t look that way," says the 24-year-old Marine
Corps reservist.
Equipment fills his cramped Corps of Cadets dorm room and
covers the small floor. Filling his backpack, Slaton refers to the long
list of items he’s required to bring. Among those items are suncreen,
bug repellant and thermal underwear.
“They say it gets cold in the desert at night,” Slaton says.
The chances of Slaton seeing and living in that desert are high.
But first, his infantry reserve unit will fly from Houston to California for
training. From there they will travel as far as their orders take them.
In the meantime, Slaton remains calm. The thought of war
doesn’t appear to frighten him. The worst part, he says, has been the
waiting.
His unit was warned of the Middle East situation before
WAR doesn’t seem so far away
An Aggie Marine shares his thoughts, feelings as he storms
closer to battle and drifts farther away from home.
By Yvonne Salce
Photos By Phelan M. Ebenhack
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