Marine

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Korean War Marine veteran pens his own hilarious obituary

By Gina Harkins on March 15, 2014 Battle Rattle

Former Sgt. Walter George Bruhl Jr. didn’t leave this Earth without a plan — the Korean War veteran wrote his own obituary, complete with fill-in-the-blank spaces for the date and time of his death. “His spirit was released from his worn out shell of a body and is now exploring the universe,” his obituary states. He died in his home on Sunday. He was 80. Bruhl served in the Marine Corps from 1951 to 1954, with overseas duty in Japan. He reached the rank of sergeant, and joined the Corps “because of Hollywood propaganda, to which he succumbed as a…

After 30 years as Marines, married sergeants major retire on the same day

By Hope Hodge Seck on July 30, 2013 Battle Rattle, Leadership, Marines

Talk about a motivated marriage. On July 26, Sgts. Maj. Bradley and Holly Prafke retired in a joint ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C. The Prafkes’ commitment to the Corps goes almost as deep as their commitment to each other: They retired with 30 years of service apiece under their belts, and they were together for 27 of those years. They met, according to news reports, in Camp Pendleton, Calif., when he was a lance corporal and she was a corporal. Bradley Prafke relinquished his last post, that of sergeant major for Marine Aircraft Group 29, during…

Navy Cross recipient gets Father’s Day surprise

By Gina Harkins on June 19, 2012 Battle Rattle

Cpl. Christopher Farias received a Father’s Day surprise after he threw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game on Sunday — his dad was behind the catcher’s mask. Farias thought he was throwing out the first pitch as “veteran of the game,” but there was a bigger plan in action. According to his dad, this was the first Father’s Day in eight years that the 11th Marines Field Artillery School instructor wasn’t called away on duty. So he hid behind the catcher’s gear and got behind the plate to catch his son’s ceremonial first pitch. Farias, based in Dodger-territory at Camp…

Browsing: Marine