Each year the Marine Corps accepts near 38,000 recruits who try to earn the title of United States Marine. The Marine Corps is the smallest branch of service with a size of roughly 180,000 active duty Marines. Our legacy is the first to fight and our reputation is fierce and lethal.
Given all of that….what makes a civilian join the Marine Corps? Essex County Leathernecks and guests speak out:
Name: John McDonald
Years of service: 1952 – 1955
MOS: Unknown
Rank: 02
John joined the Marine Corps as he thought the Marines were different. He didn’t want to join any of the other branches. He knew he wanted to be a Marine.
Guest Name: Bruce Rust
Years of service: 1960- 1963
MOS: 1401 Programmer
Bruce knew he was going to be drafted so he said let me go into the best.
Rank: E3
Name: Walter Peterson Jr
Years of service: 1962 – 1968
MOS: M60 Machine Gunner
Rank: E4
Walter enlisted in the Marine Corps following his family tradition to serve in the armed forces. Walter’s father was in the Army. One day his father said –why don’t you do something smart? Why don’t you join the Marine Corps? Walter served four years in Vietnam.
Name: Frederick Nadeau
Years of service: 1963 – 1967
MOS: 2111 Small Arms Repairer/Technician
Rank: E5
Frederick enlisted while in high school under a 120-day plan. Ultimately, this plan provided him an incentivized pay raise. As a teen he watched the movie South Pacific on television and he also had a brother who was in the Marine Corps (indeed all 5 of his brothers went into the service). All of this and wanting to be — part of the best – is how Frederick found himself in the Marine Corps.
Name: Thomas McKeown, Combat veteran, Vietnam 1967-1968
Years of service: 1964 – 1968
MOS: 0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer
Rank: E4
In his youth, Thomas watched many WWII and some Korean War movies featuring Marines. By the time he reached high school he realized he wasn’t going to finish it. He felt like there was nothing for him in Ticonderoga. He held a mindset that he had no other choice than to leave high school and enlist in the Marine Corps at age 17.
Name: Bill Fitzgerald
Years of service: 1966 – 1967
MOS: 0311 Infantry Rifleman
Rank: E4
Bill was in college and he did a project on Vietnam. He also had a history teacher who explained why we were in Vietnam. Bill thought, our country is at war and I can give them two years. It was circulating that if he enlisted for two years he would go into infantry. Bill left college and enlisted. The reason for enlisting in the Marine Corps never left him during his service.
Guest Name: Steve Nadeau
Years of service: 1967 – 1971
MOS: 6236 Aircraft
When Steve was a boy he knew the only thing there was, was the Marine Corps and he knew he wanted to be a Marine.
Rank: E4
Name: Bob Tompkins
Years of service: 1968 – 1972
MOS: 3516 Automotive Mechanic, 0431 Logistics/Embarkation Specialist
Rank: E5
When he was 17 years old the Vietnam war was raging. Bob was full of testosterone and not much grey matter and he thought to go over and set it straight. He wanted to help out fellow Americans.
Name: Clayton D Menser Sr
Years of service: 1970 — 1995
MOS: 6400 Basic Avionics Marine, 6416 Tactan Technician, 6420 Tactan Technician Sergeant, 9999 First Sergeant
Rank: E8
Clayton had been planning on joining the Air Force however he shifted to the Marine Corps after his older brother joined the Air Force. Clayton determined his older brother had bossed him around all his life and he wasn’t going to in the military. Clayton has the distinction of his first day of service starting on the Marine Corps birthday, November 10.
Name: Bill Wells
Years of service: 1971 – 1973
MOS: 3041 Supply Administration and Operations Specialist
Rank: E3
Bill’s dad was in the navy as a radioman in WWII. Bill wanted to serve his country. When he was 12 years old, he had ear surgery. The surgeon (a veteran who was a major in WWII with military duties as the head of the ear, nose and throat department at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) said to Bill’s parents – you’ll never have to worry about him being in the service, because they’ll never take him. Bill wanted to prove him wrong. In the week before bootcamp graduation Bill stood before a review to medically discharge him. Bill prevailed and graduated bootcamp. When he next saw his recruiter, the recruiter said – I thought you’d be kicked out in the first week, I signed you on just to meet my quota.
Name: Paul Tremblay
Years of service: 1977 – 1983
MOS: (pending)
Rank: E5
As Paul was planning for life after high school, he recognized there would be no money for college, he loved America and by nature, he challenged himself constantly. Many members of his family had served, but those who mattered to him were in the Corps. Paul was tempted by the Navy but realized in the Marine Corps he could be on a ship and get off a ship. After enlisting, Paul’s uncle Rich, a Marine with three tours in Vietnam, advised Paul in bootcamp to pound on the drill instructor’s hut and ask “how am I doing and how can I do better?” Thus began Paul’s success as he trained to be a Marine.
Guest Name: Ron Andryshak
Years of service: 1981 – 2009
MOS: 0300 (multiple infantry specialties) and 9999 Sergeant Major
Rank: E9
Ron did not want to be a farmer, he needed discipline and he wanted to see the world.
Name: Chris Bazan
Years of service: 1983 – 1990
MOS: 6433 Aircraft Electrician
Chris was standing in line for the Air Force recruiter and it was too long of a wait. His recruiter, GySgt Brown said bring those ASVABS over here. Gunny Brown would go on to enlist Chris’s now wife Dawn into the Marine Corps as well.
Rank: E4
Name: Kevin Peters
Years of service: 1983 – 2004
MOS: 3451 Financial Management Resource Analyst, 3002 Ground Supply Officer, 3441 NAF Audit Technician, 0931 Marksmanship Instructor
Rank: E9
Kevin was working in a local 2-man sawmill when his nearing-retirement employer asked him what Kevin was planning to do with his life. The employer had shared his son was in the Army. Kevin decided to spend a few months exploring military options and he talked to the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps recruiters. He did not want to be on a ship, so he bypassed any explorations in the navy. Ultimately what Kevin knew about himself was that he liked sports, hard work and the Marine Corps seemed like the hardest. He found this appealing, and he liked the uniforms. In his years of service Kevin was enlisted, then a reserve officer and finally, with special permissions, finished out his career as an enlisted Marine.
Guest Name: Stuart Reid
Years of service: 1983 – 2005
MOS: 6336 Aircraft Electrical Systems Technician
Rank: E8
Stuart had an older brother who went away to college and didn’t do so well in his first year. Stuart was 2 years younger and he reflected that he could have the same experience as his brother and he decided to join the military. In his youthful ambitions he wanted to be a Navy SEAL but he learned it wasn’t something you could sign up for off the street. So he joined the Marine Corps. Stuart noted he’d been retired for 20 years and all his Marines came and visited him and waited outside the radiation room. [At the 250th Birthday Ball, Stuart is 2 weeks cancer free.]
Name: Dawn Bazan
Years of service: 1986 – 1990
MOS: 2542 Communication Center Operator
Rank: E4
Dawn joined the Marine Corps because she could not afford college. She assumed the Marine Corps could help pay for her college once she was on active duty. Ultimately (as a civilian) Dawn used her Marine Corps experience to help her through grueling Occupational Therapy school.
Name: Mike Forand
Years of service: 1987 – 1993
MOS: 1371 Combat Engineer
Rank: E4
Mike was in the Army National Guard and after two years of service he decided he wanted the Guard to make him a mechanic. When the Guard wouldn’t do that, he joined the Marine Corps with the intent to be a mechanic. However, after graduating Marine Corps bootcamp and tracking down his recruiter, the first words from his recruiter were – you’re still speaking to me?
Name: Cory Thompson
Years of service: 1989 – 1993
MOS: 0481 Landing Support Specialist (Red Patchers)
Rank: E4
Cory intended to join the navy as a Seabee but there were no quotas available. He talked to a Marine recruiter and the recruiter said he had heard of Cory before. The recruiter heard Cory was a good baseball player and that he might be good enough to try out for the Marine Corps baseball team and travel the world. As it turns out Cory never saw a baseball during his enlistment, but he loved every minute of his time in the Marine Corps.
Guest Name: Bernard Camarro
Years of service: 1990 — 2004
MOS: 6052 Aircraft Maintenance
Bernard always wanted to be in the military and he chose the best.
Rank: E5
Name: Jason Joiner
Years of service: 1991 – 1999
MOS: 2131 Towed Artillery Systems Technician
Rank: E5
Jason was working at a high school and he was laid off for the winter. Consequently, he enlisted in the Marine Corps even though the first time he took the ASVABS he did it as a joke.
Name: Walter E. Peterson III
Years of service: 1992 – 2015
MOS: 6391 Avionics Maintenance Chief
Rank: E8
Walter joined the Marine Corps because his father served as a Marine and his grandfather served in the Army Air Corps in WWII.
Name: Joe Tucker
Years of service: 1994 – 1996
MOS: 0311 Infantry Rifleman
Rank: E3
Joe’s brother Tommy had enlisted in the Marine Corps. A few months after this Joe, age 21, said to his mom – maybe I should think about joining. His mom immediately called the recruiter and said – I have another son for you.
Name: Brad Peters
Years of service: 1996 – 2001
MOS: 2141 Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) Repairer/Technician
Rank: E5
Brad enlisted in the Marine Corps because his uncle was a Marine and because the Marines had really cool uniforms.
Guest Name: Jeff Holbrook
Years of service: 2001 – 2013
MOS: 7382 Loadmaster
Rank: E7
Jeff has a long family lineage being in the military and he is the first Marine. He scouted each service branch before joining. With the Army he didn’t see good discipline. The Air Force was all business and it would help him in the civilian world. However when he reflected that he wanted to be in the military, he wanted to be with the best of the best and challenge himself.
Guest Name: Jeff Hilton
Years of service: 2001 – 2013
MOS: Aircraft Mechanic
Rank: E7
At 17 Jeff joined the Army but fractured a bone 2 weeks before graduating basic training. He decided to get out. At age 21 or 22 he had the itch to go back in the military. The Army recruiter never called him back. With a Marine Corps recruiter, Jeff enlisted and went in.
Name: Josh Rafferty
Years of service: 2005 – 2009
MOS: 0311 Infantry Rifleman
Rank: E3
Josh joined because his best friend joined and he didn’t want to be left behind. Also, in 1988, his Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Eric were on the Pan Am Flight 103. This flight was bombed by terrorists and there were no survivors. Josh was inspired to serve and fight against terrorism.
Guest Name: Daniel teRiele
Years of service: 2008 – 2012. 2018 — current
MOS: 3432 Disbursing Technician (Active) 6602 Aviation Supply Officer (Reserve)
Rank: 03
Dan enjoyed the Marine Corps so much, he joined twice. Dan had spoken with an Army recruiter while in high school, but he wasn’t convinced to join. Later Dan’s friend was talking to a Marine Corps recruiter and Dan began engaging with this recruiter too. After assessing that he wanted an outlet from limited local opportunities and that he wasn’t ready for college Dan realized the Marine Corps was his way forward.
As he neared the end of his Master’s program Dan said hello to an Army officer recruiter (also a former Marine) on campus. The recruiter gave him an Army water bottle and encouraged him to consider being an Army officer. Dan knew he couldn’t join the Army. He took the bottle home and his wife (former Marine) said why not become a Marine Corps officer? Several Marine friends also encouraged him to return to the Marine Corps. After Dan attended a Marine OCS function, he was hooked.
Guest Name: Karen tiRiele
Years of service: 2009 – 2020
MOS: 0111 Administrative Specialist
Karen wanted to challenge herself. She wanted to be different from those around her. She faced a lot of doubts that she could be a Marine and she wanted to prove the doubters wrong. Karen said she made it through bootcamp with the support of her Marine sisters.
Rank: E5
Guest Name: Ty Schlogl
Years of service: 2019 – 2023
MOS: 0311 Infantry Rifleman
Rank: E4
Ty had a lot of family in the service. His great grandpa, grandpa, uncles, parents, sisters and all five brothers served. In addition to this long family tradition, Ty noted that school was not his thing and he wanted something that would get his adrenaline going. He chose Marine Corps infantry. He wanted the brotherhood aspect of infantry. Ty was in Afghanistan when the US withdrew. He has worn a memorial bracelet with the names of the Marine brothers who died from the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Guest Name: Dillon Schlogl
Years of service: 2020 – 2024
MOS: 1316 Metal Worker
Rank: E4
Dillon enlisted because of a family legacy and he wanted to get out and explore the world.
Name: Omni Bazan
Years of service: 2022 – current
MOS: 0402 Logistics Officer
Rank: O-2
My parents (Dawn and Chris, listed above) inspired me. I heard their stories and 30 years later Marines were still visiting her parents. She wanted to join the hardest branch.
Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in this world. The Marines don’t have that problem.
Ronald Reagan
Last updated December 1, 2025
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