He is 30-year-old Marine Staff Sgt. Lawrence E. Dean II, stationed at the Cherry Point base in North Carolina. The Conway, S.C., native writes and performs rap-style poetry using the stage name “Life.” And he is known all over North Carolina, where he is an inspiration to countless friends and strangers alike.

The YouTube video of Dean reciting the poem he wrote about defending America’s freedom garnered close to 400,000 views in just two days earlier this week. “It almost leaves you speechless,” he told FoxNews on Wednesday of the reaction to his poetry. “Just to see it affected that many people — if it made that many people think, it was worth every bit of that three minutes. It wasn’t about me solely. It pretty much said what we live. It’s touching people the way I intended it to.”

The poem he wrote which begins, “And she called isn’t about the experience of fighting a war. It’s about what the armed forces do. “It’s about the military service and the reason we do things,” he explained. “We just defend the country, no questions asked. As a family, we do it. The poem was just utmost admiration and respect for the individuals that are there. … They’ve answered the country’s call.”

He was compelled to write the poem about two-and-a-half years ago, he said, when his grandmother asked him one day what would make him go to war.

“The answer I can give is just, ‘Because she called,’” said Dean, referring to America. “That was the best answer I could give that day.”

If you have not already viewed this video I suggest you do. If you would like the words to the video click here.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2007 – A joint U.S. military mobile surgical team from Joint Task Force Bravo, based at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, will deploy to Peru today as part of U.S. Southern Command’s response to an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the South American nation Aug. 15.

The deployment follows a disaster declaration issued yesterday by U.S. Ambassador to Peru Peter Michael McKinley.

The 30-member U.S. Army and Air Force surgical team will include a general surgeon, anesthesiologist, general practitioner, physician’s assistant, nurses and medical technicians and will partner with the U.S. Embassy, as well as Peruvian defense and health officials to provide specialized medical services to area residents, SOUTHCOM officials said.

“We want to extend our deepest sympathies to the people of Peru and the families affected by this tragic earthquake,” Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said. “Any time there is disaster of this magnitude, there is dramatic increase in the medical needs of those communities affected. As a partner nation and close friend of Peru, we stand ready to assist with those resources and capabilities at our disposal.”

A U.S. Air Force C-130 from 156th Airlift Wing, based in Puerto Rico, will airlift the surgical team to Peru.

U.S. Southern Command military planners continue to work with enter agency partners and Peruvian counterparts to assess recovery needs in the affected areas and identify additional U.S. military units that may be able to provide assistance, officials said.

JTF Bravo, the only U.S. Southern Command component with permanently assigned U.S. military personnel, is a first responder to crises in the region and routinely conducts humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, search-and-rescue, personnel-recovery and non-combatant medical evacuation operations.