Mom Spotlights The Beginning Of Her Son's Journey In The Marines
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00:00Tampa Bay's morning crew want to honor and thank those who protect and serve our country.
00:05Time now for Military Monday on 99.5 QYK.
00:10I got Michelle on the phone. She's honoring her son today for Military Monday. His name is Ethan.
00:15Good morning, Michelle. How are you?
00:17Good morning. How are you? I'm doing well.
00:19You know, Michelle, talking about Ethan today is very interesting because usually we talk about, you know,
00:24people who've been in the service for 10 plus years or whatever.
00:27But Ethan, he has reported and is at the beginning of his journey when it comes to the Marines.
00:31That is correct. He left on July 11th and he will graduate October 7th.
00:36And he is in the middle of the Crucible right now.
00:38Oh, wow. Reporting for the Marines. I know that's a very intense process for sure.
00:43So when he leaves home, he's a young kid. What does he say to mom?
00:47Oh, goodness. It was very emotional. You know, he's 18, so he's very young.
00:51He just graduated high school. So he's such a strong, level-headed kid.
00:55He had made up the decision before we even had a chance to have an opinion about it.
01:00Wow. At what age was that?
01:02It was right, I would say it was 17. It was a year before he actually joined.
01:07And did he give you a reason of what that was like? I mean, did he say, hey, this is why I want to do this?
01:11He wanted to travel the world and he wanted to service country and he wanted to be something for himself.
01:19That's great.
01:19Now, do you think that Ethan's going to stay in this for the majority of his life?
01:25A career Marine?
01:25Like a career Marine?
01:26I do. He has done so well throughout boot camp. He's actually squad leader and has been since just a few weeks after starting.
01:34He is truly invested and dedicated. He loves every minute of it.
01:39Well, Michelle, I'm sure you could not be any prouder. I know it's tough on you. Where did Ethan go to school?
01:44He went to Pasco High School and he just graduated this past June.
01:47Very nice. And has he shown any interest in something that he wants to specialize in when it comes to the Marines?
01:52His desire is to do what they call motor T, which is mechanics, basically.
01:57Okay.
01:57Yeah, so he's really into that and he's hoping to go that way. If not, then he'll go where the Marines need them.
02:02That's kind of the contract that you sign. If they need you somewhere else, they'll put you somewhere else.
02:06You know, they always say that, you know, the first boot camp is like the hardest.
02:10Did he ever talk to you and be like, Mom, I don't know if I'm going to make it. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this.
02:15Believe it or not, not one time has he even mentioned not wanting to be there.
02:20Wow.
02:21Yeah, he has embraced every moment. You know, they say embrace the suck and that's what he does.
02:28Yeah, he has done so well through the whole thing. We're all so proud. His dad and I and, you know, stepmom, stepdad, we're all in it together and we love him so much. We're all so proud of him.
02:36Well, Michelle, we're so glad you reached out to us. And Ethan sounds like a remarkable young man and obviously doing something that is so brave and going for it and being motivated not only to, you know, do something with his life, but also do something for others with his life.
02:50So that's pretty cool.
02:51We want to give you a hundred dollar Amex gift card from Tampa Premium Outlets.
02:56I mean, you can give it to him when he comes home to visit or maybe you can just say, you know what, mom needs a shopping spree anyway.
03:02Yeah. Oh, no, I'll definitely give it to him. He'll probably enjoy that after being in boot camp for 13 weeks.
03:07Absolutely. Home cooked meals from mom and then a hundred dollar Amex gift card from Tampa Premium Outlets.
03:12But Michelle, we cannot thank you enough. Please give our love to Ethan.
03:15Thank you for your sacrifices because I know it can be tough on you and your family.
03:19And please thank Ethan for his service.
03:21I will definitely do that. Thank you so much.
03:23You are welcome.
03:24Hey, if you want to nominate someone for Military Monday or First Responder Friday, those are the stories we love to hear.
03:29We want to learn about that loved one in your life.
03:32Just go to 99.5QYK.com.