(Left to right) Kelly Esselburn, Tom Esselburn '81, Chris Esselburn '08 and Nathan Esselburn '09 at the
arches in the Quad. The words "Return with honor" had a special meaning for Chris during his deployment
to Iraq as he wore a ring with the phrase engraved on it.
By Stephanie Jeter '06
Chris Esselburn '08 has very good posture—shoulders back, spine straight, hands in lap. Though he was
sitting, the back of his plastic chair remained scarcely used throughout the conversation.
Pulled from a corner in Duncan Dining Hall, maybe it was there for the next person to recline in, for
someone less disciplined, someone who needed to rest. Esselburn, it seemed, didn't fit in either category.
He'd been sitting for a while. Before the chair, it was in his truck, before the truck it was in a plane.
Before the plane, he'd been in Iraq on his second tour.
There's been lots of celebration for the Ohio Marine since his return to the States in March. He'd called
his father, Tom Esselburn '81, first. "Hi, Dad. I'm in Maryland," Tom remembered. The elder Esselburn
was at a gas station when his cell phone rang. It was the same day George Bush came through the Shreve,
Ohio, area, the Esselburns' hometown. The day already had a buzz about it, but it was nothing near the
call from his son, nothing near having him back home.
Esselburn's bus to home base in Erie was greeted by a cheering crowd. The local police department escorted
the bus right between two fire engines with their ladders outstretched. An American flag hung from the
highest point, almost brushing the top of the bus, he said. The stars and stripes had never had never
seemed so large.
Esselburn has been welcomed. His mom's banana bread has been served, and he's slept in his own bed.
But it hadn't felt complete until he was back in College Station.
College Station is where his senior boots are.
College Station is where his new Aggie Ring belongs.
He earned his Ring before he left. Ninety-five hours completed toward his degree in agricultural economics,
the Ring was shipped to his parents' home. They understand its importance.
Esselburn is a Ross Volunteer, second generation after his father. Esselburn's brother, Nathan '09,
holds a spot in the respected Corps of Cadets unit, too. Though their mother, Kelly, may not be an Aggie
by record, "you might as well call her one," Esselburn said. She taught her five children how to sing
the Spirit of Aggieland. "She taught us to sing it off key," Nathan teased.
When Esselburn's Aggie Ring came in the mail, his parents took a picture. They e-mailed it with the
message "Return with honor."
It's been Esselburn's watch phrase for a while now. It's chiseled in the bricks that make up the arches
in the Quad. It's engraved in a ring he wore while in Iraq.
Knowing he had earned his Aggie Ring but couldn't wear it, Esselburn purchased the sterling silver band
two weeks before flying to Iraq as sort of substitute Aggie Ring. "As I left for Iraq, I wanted to make
sure I returned with the same honor I had," he said. Esselburn wore the band every day. He took it off
when he put his Aggie Ring on.
He wore his senior boots for the first time at the Corps of Cadet's Final Review 2007. They're just
a few pieces of leather stitched together to fit his foot, but with them back on, he's back home. He
returned with honor.
One of his Squadron 18 buddies kept them on campus. "I told him I'd be back. I wanted them to stay in
Aggieland," Esselburn said.
It was a Tuesday when he was released from formation with his Marine unit in Ohio. By Wednesday he was
in formation in College Station with Squadron 16. He had his boots. He had his Aggie Ring.
"It's great to be an Aggie. It's great to be in Aggieland."
Stephanie Jeter '06 is a reporter, writer and photographer for Texas Aggie magazine and AggieNetwork.com.
To contact her, e-mail SJeter06@AggieNetwork.com.