TBS 2-67 Cruisebook_Updated_7Jan23

Classmate Tom Gay gave the invocation at our
TBS reunion banquet dinner
O God among us, Creator and ruler of the universe: When we
were young men and oh so impressionable you brought us
together as young Marine officers and brothers in service to
our country. With these bonds of service and brotherhood
that have now transcended the decades, you have given us a
glimpse of your never ending love for us and for all creation.
In those younger days when we were yet clay‐‐‐and indeed
over the years‐‐‐our service as Marines shaped our lives in
ways unimagined and even, at times, unrecognized. Together
we trained, we learned, we marched, we ran, we discovered
new physical limits and new emotional limits. We laughed, we
celebrated, and through all of this we became leaders of
Marines. We were assigned our MOS, and then you sent us
forward into the world filled with faith in our abilities,
infused with hope for the future, and fortified by the bond of
love and Esprit de Corps we shared.
Faith, hope, love.
Over these 52 years we have been husbands and fathers and
grandfathers. In our careers we have excelled and we have
faltered. We have served our communities as coaches and
churchmen, as business and civic leaders, as mentors and
OpOrd TBS 2‐67
teachers, and as counselors and encouragers. On all of
these divergent paths we have traveled the continents, and
we have returned to our familiar homes.
We have known unbounded love, experienced joy and
disappointment, and suffered grief. And now, this evening,
those bonds of brotherhood first formed when we were
young Marine officers have brought us together again.
What we understood only dimly then, we see more clearly
now.
Faith, hope, love,
These three abide; and the greatest of these is love.
Bless now this meal, and bless this class we call Charlie Co.
2‐67.
In thy holy name we pray. Amen
L. Tom Gay 5/16/19
If this link is active you can listen to
Tom's Invocation by clicking here.
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