I joined the Marine Corps on 12 Jun 89, and that was the
beginning of a great adventure for this ole country boy. As I road that
Greyhound bus from Winston-Salem, NC southward to Parris Island, SC. I had
no clue what lay in store for me, but I would soon find out just exactly
what it took to become a United States Marine.
I was assigned to Platoon 3064, 3rd Battalion Recruit Training Regiment, and
from there my life took a whole new meaning. After boot camp I went home for
my ten days and then did Recruiter's Assistance for twenty days and from
there I went to Camp Geiger, NC for MCT (Marine Combat Training) and on to
SOI (School of Infantry), where I was promoted meritoriously to Lance
Corporal. From there I went to Camp Pendleton, Va. where I trained in the
MCSF Bn Atlantic. Then as I finished Marine Security Force Battalion school
I was flown to Jacksonville, Fl. to my first duty station. U.S.S. Saratoga
(CV-60) Marine Detachment. Not long after getting to this duty station and
settling into the life aboard ship, we set to see for a MedCruise. While
underway we were told that we were going to be participating in the Gulf
War. While aboard ship I grew to really enjoying the life as a Marine, eager
to learn all I could and be the best Marine possible. I studied and worked
hard to learn the job skills of C.O.G. or Corporal of the Guard and it paid
off, as I was promoted to Corporal during the Gulf War. From there I
received orders to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines in Twenty-nine Palms, Ca.
and once I got there they were deploying on a WestPack. The company C.O.
asked me where I had just come from and when he found out asked me if I
wanted to extend for the pump or wanted to be FAP'ed out to base PMO or
Provost Marshall's Office and be an MP. I asked if he would send me down to
PMO and he did. Then Somalia came up, so then good ole 1st Battalion, 7th
Marines decided that Cpl. Shores needed to come and go with them to Somalia.
So I was pulled to 1/7 and off to Somalia we went. When we got back from
there I only had about four months left until my time was up. Once back home
to good ole North Carolina, I embarked upon my new career, I went from
protecting and serving the world to protecting and serving the citizens of
North Carolina. I have been a Police Officer now for almost nine years. God
has blessed me with a wonderful wife and two lovely children. My son has
given me the best present a son could give his father, now you must
understand that I have never pushed my son into any of my thoughts or
wishes, but on December 14th, 2002, he signed his paperwork to enlist in the
United States Marine Corps. His words to his recruiter when asked what he
wanted to do were... "I want to be just like my Dad, I want to be in the
infantry where I can do it all!" Yes, this made an old Devildog get a little
teary eyed, and there you have it, the Reader's Digest version of my
life. I have come to the realization of one thing and that is that nothing
comes easy in life, but it the road is not half as bumpy when you have God
walking the paths with you. I should have let Him walk with me long ago, or
at least realized that He was with me. Semper Fi to all you old
jarheads out there. May God bless you and your family like nothing you have
every experienced.
Here are some more fellow Marines websites, please visit
them and show your support whether you are active duty, a veteran, retiree, or
just a grand ole American, drop in on us from time to time. We love to hear
from you.
Please visit the rest of my site, there are many graphics
sites as well as resources for both the Law Enforcement and civilian
communities. Just click on one of the links below to carry on!
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