Square One (definition: the starting point)
October 1st, 2007 by Jaclyn Sharratt
Justin’s four-year term with the United States Marine Corp officially ended on September 27, 2007. He is currently en route home to Pennsylvania with a U-Haul full of military uniforms, personal belongings, the Jeep, scooter, and his newly purchased motorcycle. I hope he left behind the pain and misery he had to experience from the past 20 months, but we cannot be sure just yet. Justin will be staying home for a few months, decompressing, working on his Jeep and bike, visiting friends, and enjoying time with our family for the holidays. We will also be meeting with news stations and talk shows, obligingly going through the motions of follow-up interviews.
Before we know it Christmas will be here and this year we have a lot to be grateful for, especially considering a year ago on December 21st we were at a press conference, listening to the USMC charge Justin with three counts of murder. I believe right now life is definitely on the upswing!
My brother is planning on returning to California after the New Year. We are going to spend some time looking into trade schools and colleges over the next few months and slowly begin piecing back together his future and realigning goals. It is a very exciting time for all of us! To celebrate in a way that only my brother can pull off, LCpl Sharratt took it upon himself to utilize the inexpensive haircuts issued at Camp Pendleton the day before his departure; he got a tri-hawk haircut (a three strip Mohawk)… I guess he wanted to make it count!