
"My father served. He came home hurt. He never filed a claim. He died of cancer when I was 18. I joined the Marines to honor what he started."
Falls Church, Virginia. Small town, no plan. Delivering Domino's pizza, stocking shelves at Southern States. My father died when I was 18. Steve Ely — Air Force, Strategic Air Command. A weapons mechanic at Ramey Air Force Base through the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I walked into a recruiting office in April 1989. Not for adventure. To honor what he built. I had no idea Iraq was about to invade Kuwait.


