Sgt. Miguelange G. Madrigal, a radio Supporting Arms Liaison Team G, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, salutes Lt. Gen. Steven A. Hummer, commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North, after being awarded a Silver Star Medal aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Jan. 31, 2013. Madrigal was awarded the nation’s third highest honor for his actions as a member of a squad patrol that was pinned down by insurgent fire. On Feb. 15, 2008, he repelled an enemy attack, rushed to save a fellow Marine, called in multiple fire-support missions, and called in a casualty evacuation. (U.S. Marine Corps photochief with by Cpl. Marcin Platek/Released)

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Story by Cpl. Marcin Platek

A Silver Star Medal was presented to Sgt. Miguelange G. Madrigal of 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Force Headquarters Group, Marine Forces Reserve, at a ceremony aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Jan. 31st.

Lt. Gen. Steven A. Hummer, the commander of MARFORRES and Marine Forces North, presented the medal and later expressed the boldness of Madrigal’s actions.
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Yuma-based Lance Cpl. Yesenia Rios (right), now a Marine Aircraft Group 13 Headquarters supply clerk and a native of Pomona, Calif., grew up in a tight knit family of five. Her new Marine Corps family has kept the homesickness at bay. Lance Cpl. Christine Keaney (left), a MAG-13 intelligence specialist and native of Braintree, Mass., recalls her first impression of Rios as someone who was quiet, but kind, motivated and game to whatever the Corps had to offer.

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Story by Lance Cpl. Uriel Avendano

No Marine has the exact same story on how they came to earn the title, but every Marine can relate.

Having grown up in Pomona, Calif., Lance Cpl. Yesenia Rios had a plan in mind. And it wasn’t the Marine Corps. However, being the eldest daughter in a family of five, Rios could already appreciate the true meaning of family.
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Corporal Pierre K. Justin, administration clerk, Command Element, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, re-enlists into the Marine Corps for another four years, aboard the USS Rushmore, Oct. 30. Justin was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1990. At the age of 15, he left the Caribbean and moved to his father’s house in New York City. He later joined the Marine Corps and earned his U.S. citizenship. Photo by Cpl. Timothy Childers

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Story by Cpl. Timothy Childers

The Marine Corps is a melting pot of brave men and women from many nationalities who all share the desire to serve and protect the United States. Each has a unique story that deserves to be told.

Corporal Pierre K. Justin was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1990. At the age of 15, he left the Caribbean and moved to his father’s house in New York City. Today he serves as an administration clerk, deployed with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Rushmore.
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Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit work with members of the New York Sanitation Department to clear out the tremendous piles of debris that have accumulated on Staten Island in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Nov. 5, 2012. The 26th MEU is able to provide generators, fuel, clean water, and helicopter lift capabilities to aid in disaster relief efforts. Photo by Cpl. Chris Stone

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Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, to join them on the USS Wasp (LHD 1), Nov. 05, 2011.

“After the commandant’s arrival, he left to talk to the (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey), and to see first hand the destruction of Hurricane Sandy,” said Sgt. Maj. Todd M. Parisi, hometown native of Kersey, Penn., and sergeant major of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “This isn’t as simple as ‘hey, there is a need and we have people here who want to help so lets put them on the ground,’ this is a larger, more complex type of situation of relationships and dynamics. Things have to be done right. The Marine Corps is geared and poised ready to execute immediately, but not everything happens that fast. However, today was a great success.”
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Marines of 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrive in Staten Island, N.Y., Nov. 4. The Navy-Marine Corps team is well-equipped to respond to national disasters when required, through the coordination of U.S. Northern Command. While the military plays an important role in disaster response, all our efforts are in support of FEMA first and foremost, who coordinate closely with state and local officials. Photo by Cpl. Bryan Nygaard

The sound of Marine helicopters overhead has come to mean that help is on the way. From the Southeast Asian tsunami in 2004, to Hurricane Katrina, to the flooding in Pakistan, the earthquake in Haiti and now in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Marines and the Navy provide assistance unlike any other. Nothing conveys the feeling that everything is going to be all right like a United States Marine. Staten Island and the Rockaways in Queens know that feeling tonight.
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