CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Aside from the periodic hum of a
hovering MV-22 Osprey in the distance or the muted chatter of soldiers,
sailors and Marines milling about in front of the stage, all else was
silent.
Then Lance Cpl. Rory MacEachern started to play
Lance Cpl. Rory MacEachern opened of Toby Keith on a USO tour. He
captured everyones attention, maybe it was the sound of the bagpipe in
such a far away location.
For the time being though, he is quite happy playing to his brothers
and sisters in arms. In addition to the occasional evening performance
here, MacEachern has treated the hundreds of newly-minted Marines and
their families to an impromptu performance in front of the Iwo Jima
Memorial upon graduating from recruit training aboard Marine Corps
Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. He also played as part of the
graduation ceremonies upon completing military occupational specialty
school aboard Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
According to MacEachern, it’s his personal way to keep spirits up.
“A
lot of people are pretty surprised to hear bagpipes playing out here,”
he said. “I get mixed emotions – people love it or hate it – but, for
the most part Marines seem to really like it. I think it helps bring
morale up and that’s always a good thing out here.”
