“As Marines in Camp Lejeune, we sometimes trained in Fort Pickett, Virginia. It sucks. We hate it there. We were bivouacked out in the woods and had been out in the alternating rain and extreme summer heat. We had been out there by ourselves for days. Slowly going insane.

I was sitting on my pack one day smoking a cigarette when I heard faint chanting in the woods. I put out my smoke and walked in the direction of the noise. I went through the woods and came to a small clearing where I saw the strangest shit of my life.

A group of Marines had gathered in a half circle, and were chanting in musical tones, ‘Blood for the blood god! Give us libo! Give us salvation! Blood for the blood god!’

I walked closer, and saw that the Marines had found a dead squirrel, made a small crown of twigs for it, tied it with 550 chord to a home made cross and placed it on a podium. The chanting stopped and a Marine wearing a headband made from a skivvy shirt and a cape from a woobie blanket held up a field notebook and gave a sermon to the Marines who had gone insane.

‘Ooga booga. Oh glorious blood God. Grant us freedom from this shitty army base! Grant us unlimited tobacco and Rip Its. In your name we slay. Amen’. Then, he held the dead squirrel above his head and the Marines all began chanting again.

Before long, I was also on my knees before our Squirrel Blood God praying and chanting. If you can’t beat em’, join em.”
– Anonymous US Marine. 2nd Battalion 6th Marines. 2015.
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