During the summer of '92, when Lance was a Corporal in the Marine Corps, he was in charge of a platoon of 50 teenage boys attending the Devil Pup program at Camp Pendleton. During the program, platoons competed against each other. During the first session, Lances's platoon won the top honors. During the second session, Lance realized some of his boys had been cheating during the athletic events. He took a couple of the boys to the commander to explain and appologize for what they had done. The next day, the commander presided over the graduation of the Devil Pup program and handed out the awards earned. When it came to the top honor, the commander announced that the award wasn't being presented to the platoon with the top abilities, as in the past, but to the platoon that had showed the greatest honor and integrity. Lance's platoon won. He called us to tell us about the experience. When he got to the part about his second platoon winning, I could hear the emotion he was experiencing. He was happy.
A letter in Lance's military record addressed this 22-day Devil Pup experience. It mentioned that he "fostered an atmosphere of excellence and strict adherence to honorable principles that will stay with these young men for the rest of their lives....His unwavering dedication, "can do" attitude and never-ending drive for excellence has been an inspiration to all....His dedication to his assignment has won him the deepest respect of all who have observed him....has produced 100 "young men" who now have greatly expanded self esteem. His actions are admired by all, achieved by few and reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
Lance was proud to be a Marine. He excelled, earning Sergeant in less than four years. We feel his experience with the Devil Pup program shows how he approached his Marine Corps service. As his parents, it's nice to be able to share what Lance has done. Lance, on the other hand, would be the last one to "toot" his own horn!
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A letter in Lance's military record addressed this 22-day Devil Pup experience. It mentioned that he "fostered an atmosphere of excellence and strict adherence to honorable principles that will stay with these young men for the rest of their lives....His unwavering dedication, "can do" attitude and never-ending drive for excellence has been an inspiration to all....His dedication to his assignment has won him the deepest respect of all who have observed him....has produced 100 "young men" who now have greatly expanded self esteem. His actions are admired by all, achieved by few and reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
Lance was proud to be a Marine. He excelled, earning Sergeant in less than four years. We feel his experience with the Devil Pup program shows how he approached his Marine Corps service. As his parents, it's nice to be able to share what Lance has done. Lance, on the other hand, would be the last one to "toot" his own horn!
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