Where did you serve and what did you do?

I served 26 years in the Marines at posts all over the Corps, including several peacetime deployments and four combat tours. I began my service as a communicator, then an infantryman, a scout sniper, and finally a parachute rigger.

How are you Still Serving?

As a former Marine Scout Sniper, I recently concluded six years of serving our Marines and their families as a director at the USMC Scout Sniper Association, serving as SSA’s president for 4 1/2 years. I recently moved on to become the founding president of the Marine Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation with the mission to “Remember the Sacrifice and Honor the Legacy” of scout snipers for the past 105 years of faithful service in every conflict our nation has fought. Our main goal right now is to erect a suitable memorial to honor our war dead. Once complete, the Marine Scout Sniper War Memorial by Master Sculptor Sabin Howard will be placed near the National Museum of the Marine Corps, just outside the base at Quantico, VA. We hope this memorial will provide our Gold Star families with a tangible place to mourn their loss – a touchstone, if you will, to their Marine who was lost.

Why do you do it?

I grew up in a military family with a strong legacy of service. After graduating from high school, I chose to become a Marine and began a 26-year career spanning four wars, all four Marine Divisions and service with some of the most elite units in the Corps. I’m blessed to still be married to my wife of 32 years, who gave me two beautiful daughters and a happy home. We now have two young grandchildren, who remind me every day of how blessed we are to call this country home. God, Corps and Country gave me everything I hold dear, and I feel it’s my responsibility to continue giving back. Service doesn’t end just because I no longer wear a uniform. Serving others is what keeps me going. It’s my continuing mission for life.