"Little Brother" Off to War in Afghanistan

(CBS)  Of the 30,000 new troops headed to Afghanistan, one is the most special - at least, to me he is. I've known 21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Heinrich Soltow since he was 3rd grader Heinrich Soltow.

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Heinrich was my little brother in the Big Brothers Big Sistersprogram. He grew up in Los Angeles with his mom, an older sister and a younger sister, which meant I was the only male figure in his life - the only one he had to talk to about intellectual, guy-type stuff.

Steve Hartman's Blog

Heinrich and I got together once a week, every week, for 10 years. I've seen a lot of changes in him, but nothing as dramatic, or as positive, as what I see now. This story is about how the Marines changed him.

"I had no discipline whatsoever," Heinrich said.

By changing him, the Marines changed me.

"Well, I'm not successful by any means," Heinrich said.

"No, you are successful by a lot of means and I guess that's what I'm realizing," I replied.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Before joining the few and the proud, Heinrich belonged to the bored and the uninspired.

In high school he was a 5-star underachiever. In college his grades were so bad - he still won't tell me what they were. All I know is he dropped out.

Yet, his staff sergeant at Camp Pendleton says he's a model Marine.

"What did you do?" I asked Sgt. Chaplin.

"You teach 'em all to work as a team and put 'em in stressful situations in training," replied Sgt. Chaplin. "He'll come back more mature.

"Even more mature?" I asked.

"Oh, yea."

"I don't know if I'd recognize him."

"I never really knew the value of a hard day's work until I joined the Marine Corps," Heinrich said.

The fact is, Heinrich never wanted to be in college. That was more my dream than his.

"Did you feel pressure to go?" I asked.

"Oh yea," Heinrich said.

"I think at the time I thought everybody should go to college," I said.

"I don't think college has to be the way for everybody," Heinrich replied.

"Well, I realize that now," I replied.

Ironically, we're still at odds on the issue - we've just switched sides.

"I know eventually I know I'm going to have to get out of the military," Heinrich said.

"Not necessarily," I said.

Now he thinks he may want to go back to college and I think he's doing great in the military. Regardless, that's a decision for another day.

For now, Heinrich is just happy to have found his place.

Last month he and the rest of his company shipped out for Afghanistan -- which is my new beef with the military. They hand you this whole new person to appreciate, then, all too often, ship 'em right back out again.

[finkfurst]

"Semper fi" translates to "Always fa". What on earth is that supposed to mean..... Always faithless? Always faking? Always farting?

[stephanie232]

You are extremely annoying. Get off of my brothers link.

[u5mcmom]

semper fi 0 semper fidelus means forever there - Marines are family for life, active, nonactive or retired. Unless you are one of them or their family member you will never understand their commitment and dedication to their country, family and each other.

[akuafire]

Correction: For the record, Heinrich graduated High School with honors 3.59 GPA. He wanted to go to college and he applied and got accepted at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo--his 'dream school'--in the Computer Engineering program, a difficult program to get into. At Cal Poly SLO, he did well in his first semester, but bad on the second and third, with his GPA dropping way below a 2.0. He scored very high on his Armed Forces test, and could have done Intelligence, but chose Infantry instead. He was never a troubled youth. (--Heinrich's mom.)

[u5mcmom]

BE proud mom, your son is among some of finest people we will ever know, for they are out there protecting the freedoms of all. I to am a mom of a United States Marine who chose infantry also and I am very proud. Those who speak against them are uneducated and UNAMERICAN. Be proud and take care
SEMPER FI
u5mcmom - Robin

[finkfurst]

by u5mcmom March 9, 2010 11:55 PM EST
BE proud mom, your son is among some of finest people we will ever know, for they are out there protecting the freedoms of all.
--------------------------
Does that include protecting the freedoms of the thousands of innocent people who have been imprisoned and mistreated?

When are you going to realize that your son IS ONE OF THE BAD GUYS?

[finkfurst]

fleabag75 - As I thought, you don't have a clue why people are dying in your war in Afghanistan. You're just another typical idiot Yank, aren't you?

[finkfurst]

Why be proud to go to Afghanistan to kill innocent people and perhaps to be maimed or die.... and what for?

[fleabag75]

Atta boy FINKFURST. You sure know how to make a family member feel good. Why aren't you off protesting at some military funeral?

[finkfurst]

I AM a family member, which is exactly why I said what I said!
Can you say what the war in Afghanistan is for? I bet you can't.

[akuafire]

Thank you Steve for this wonderful piece about Heinrich. You have been an amazing friend and role model to him for such a long time. He was so happy to see you. Thank you everyone for your kind words, they make his absence easier to bear. Dee, our sons will be home soon. My thoughts are with them, the entire 2/5 Fox Co., and all the other brave men and women serving our country.

[Marinemom-dee]

Steve, Your story touched my heart. Thank you for being Lance Corporal Soltow's Big Brother- how awesome and great is that! We have something in common - you see my son is in the same company and is there with Heinrich. So when I say my prayers for my son Corporal Wilson and for the entire company I will send some extra good thoughts and prayers to Heinrich. God bless all our brave Marines!
Semper Fi Dee

[rgshort]

Great story, Steve. I served as an infantryman in Vietnam and was matched with a "little brother" almost thirty years ago. He was also in the third grade at the time and we hung out once a week. We now have an adult to adult relationship. He's married, has three kids and a good career. I could definitely relate to how you must have felt seeing your little brother go off to war. And yea, I'll admit to having been a little teary eyed watching that.

[u5mcmom]

Your story brought me to tears, as it reminded me of seeing my son off last year for his first deployment. I want to welcome you to the club of the proudest people on Earth - parents of soldiers. They are the greatest people as they have chosen to dedicate their lives to secure our lives and yet when you thank them they will always respond by saying I am just doing my job. WOW What a JOB. My son is preparing to deploy again so we enjoy every moment we have with him stateside. I pray that God will protect and bless LCP Soltow. Tell his family to hang in there and be proud
semper fi, Robin

[webster5600]

Mr Hartman

Thank you so much for your story. Watching the news tonight that showed us the ad of the young kids in Irac hoping that people would vote so all the US Marines would come home. Both stories were so meaningful. Thank you Steve and CBS. You all do very good work.

[Jarhead6668]

Mr. Hartman,

Thank You for this particular story, very touching! As a Former Marine
Vietnam Combat Veteran the story hit a spot in my heart, as well as a bit of moisture from my eyes - after all a Marine does not cry, as I know it did yours in reporting.

Thoughts and Prayers are with You both as we all await His and His Comrades return safely!

Thank You for this story and all of the story's you report on I anxiously await every week to view them, keep up your great work!

Semper Fi,

Former Lance Corporal Richard Campos