Some of you may know that volunteering for Marine Parents is something I do part-time. I work full -time for a heavy highway civil contractor for my "real" job, and one of the items on my long list of duties includes fielding phone calls for the company. Earlier this month, I took a call that wasn't particularly out of the ordinary, but for reasons I cannot explain, I gave the caller just a little bit more attention.  

We receive multiple calls each day about employment opportunities and this young man was simply inquiring as to whether or not we were currently hiring.  I explained our standard procedure and, during our conversation, I found out that he and a friend just happened to be passing through Columbia on their way to visit family. I explained where our office was and encouraged him to stop by in person. As our call was ending, he said to me, "I just got out of the military and I'm anxious to go to work." Well, I'll admit that, being a Marine Mom, I'm kind of partial to members of our military, so I made a call and found out from the field operations manager that we had several openings that had recently become available and he would be happy to meet with him for an interview! 

I am delighted to say the young veteran was hired on the spot, as was his friend. They were thrilled to be able to begin working right away. This is certainly the short version of my story, but the way it all came together gave me goosebumps, especially when it came time for those young men to leave.   On their way out the front door, the former soldier stopped at the reception desk and said to me, "Thanks for answering the phone today."    

I am so proud to work for a company that makes it a practice to hire veterans. I am also honored to volunteer for an organization that not only supports our military with various outreach programs and fundraising efforts, but that employs veterans as well.  

God Bless!

Many of you may be familiar with longtime Operation PAL participant Sgt. Eddie. Eddie's recovery process has been long and challenging, but, like any Marine, he's met those challenges head-on and persevered. Recently, Eddie used the same fighting spirit that's helped him overcome so much during his recovery in a new, more exciting way--living his dream of hunting, and catching, a shark!

With some help from a couple of generous supporters, Eddie was able to go shark-hunting off the coast of Long Island, New York on June 19.  The day started off slow, but eventually Eddie not only hooked, but reeled in a 7-foot, 190 lb blue shark!   

The expedition was filmed by a TV crew from the Communication Network's American Heroes Channel (formerly the Military Channel). It will air on Aug. 23 at 9 a.m.  Let's all tune in to see Sgt. Eddie's catch of a lifetime!   

To read more about Sgt. Eddie's shark-hunting adventure, please click here...

To visit Sgt. Eddie's Operation PAL page, please click here... 

Pvt. Mike's father, David, contacted me last month to share some FANTASTIC news! His message to me read:

What exciting news for Pvt. Mike! Please join all of us in wishing him well at the start of this new chapter in his life! 

To find out more about Pvt. Mike, please click here....