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 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.
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.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in this world. The Marines don’t have that problem.
Ronald Reagan
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