A Message To Garcia Summary

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A Message to Garcia Elbert Hubbard When war strikes, who do you want leading you, who would you trust to carry out the message? A Message to Garcia, though it is only a short essay, encompasses values that have been pounded into Marines since day one of recruit training. This essay is the story of how Rowan, a young Lieutenant, carries a message to Garcia when the Spanish-American war broke out. “Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba- no one knew where. No mail or telegraph message could reach him. The president must secure his cooperation, and quickly.” Communication had to be made with the leader of the Cuban insurgents, Garcia. It was vital that President McKinley be able to contact him, so he sent Lt. Andrew Summers Rowan to find him. Lt. Rowan strapped the letter to his chest, and without asking questions or any hesitation, went on his way to trench through the jungles. Four days later he found his way to the Cuban coast and immediately continued his ongoing search for Garcia. Three weeks from when he entered the vastness, Lt. Rowan emerged from the depths of the Cuban jungle, …show more content…

Despite it being an extremely brief read, there are many lessons to be learned through Lt. Rowan’s actions. For starters, when President McKinley tasked Rowan out to find Garcia, Rowan did not hesitate, ask any questions, or object to the task. This is the instant willing obedience to orders-the discipline that is drilled into us so greatly at recruit training, however as we spend more time in the Marine Corps, we tend to lose the urgency and dedication to orders. But reading A Message to Garcia brings us back to the basics. Lt. Rowan made zero excuses and proved himself as a reliable officer who could be depended upon to carry out a task, and to execute it with more hastiness and competency than his fellow officers. We should all strive to be a leader like Lt. Andrew Summers

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