First, I want to thank my Detachment for nominating me for Department Marine
of The Year and the Sr. Vice, Tom Fogarty for the write up. Marine Of The Year
at any level is, to me, the best award because it is the opinion of your
peers. WHAT AN HONOR.
Just about a week ago we buried one of our own, John Bowman, here at First
Capitol. I have known John and his wife for along time and knew that he was
active in the community and various VSO's. As I was going over his obituary,
it stuck me that this individual should have been nominated for MARINE OF THE
YEAR. I started wondering how many others have we buried that should have been
considered for greatest award that we can bestow on one of our members. Why
don't they get submitted? Is it because we are too lazy to do the write up? I
would hope not. I think that because we are Marines we hold our peers to a
higher level and expect them to perform at that level. We should all take the
time and look at our brothers and sisters and consider them for MOY. There are
so many great Marines out there that should be considered for the award and so
few are.
Don't wait and discover, when your reviewing an obituary, that this Marine
deserved, but was never considered for MOY. Don't wait until the last minute
to pick a candidate and above all don't fail to nominate a worthy candidate.
Its a win-win situation. Even if you don't receive the award you know that
your peers hold you in high esteem. Remember, it has to start in the
Detachment and nominated by the Detachment for the higher levels. The
Detachment and only the Detachment can Nominate an individual for MOY. Again,
in my mind, it was the highest award I ever received. THANK YOU
