{"id":221932,"date":"2024-07-11T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=221932"},"modified":"2024-07-12T19:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T19:07:15","slug":"honor-and-legacy-a-south-african-marines-pursuit-to-honor-his-family-through-military-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=221932","title":{"rendered":"Honor and Legacy: A South African Marine’s pursuit to honor his family through military service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PARRIS ISLAND, SC — <\/span><\/p>\n

Staring out the window, Oluwagbemiga Omotoye saw the skyline of Washington, D.C. as his plane landed at Dulles International Airport. He and his family had traveled nearly 8,000 miles from South Africa and the city was a welcomed sight.<\/p>\n

The United States represented change and new opportunities for Omotoye, who was 17 years old at the time. His family\u2019s desire for coming to America was simple\u2014to gain prosperity and be able to share that with their family members who remained in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The family would spend a few years in the metropolitan areas around Washington, D.C before uprooting to Boston. Omotoye began working odd and end jobs trying to climb the\u00a0ladder. Omotoye said he felt unfulfilled at the time and began to look at the military as an opportunity to challenge himself.<\/p>\n

Growing up in South Africa, Omotoye idolized the American military due to their reputation for being one of the best in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I was a kid, I dreamed of being in special operations, crawling through the deep of the night and executing missions,\u201d said Omotoye. \u201cI knew the Marine Corps was a very hardcore branch and I believed the [Marine Corps] would get me to that dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

“To me, earning the title of United States Marine means being able to fight for freedoms others aren’t able to, to lend a hand when others can’t, to reach new heights for future generations, and to continue the honor and legacy of my family,”\u00a0said Oluwagbemiga Omotoye.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Omotoye began talking to a recruiter and decided to enlist in the Marine Corps. During his enlistment process, Omotoye\u2019s recruiter told him about the Marine Corps Expedited Naturalization program, a new program initiative to accelerate the naturalization process for entry level servicemembers.<\/p>\n

The day before his 28th birthday Omotoye was notified that he was approved to continue the naturalization process and would ship to recruit training. Three days later Omotoye was standing on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being able to stand on the yellow footprints was enlightening,\u201d said Omotoye.
The first moments of recruit training are often considered the most difficult for many Marines. For Omotoye, it was inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we walked through the silver doors, I realized this is something that\u2019s different from anything I\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d said Omotoye. \u201cThe drill instructors training us how to conduct ourselves really helped me stay focused and I realized this is the type of person I want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n Casualty Evacuation Event<\/span>
\n Photo by Lance Cpl. William Horsley<\/span><\/p>\n
Recruit Oluwagbemiga Omotoye, a recruit with Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, gives the five paragraph order during the Noonan\u2019s Casualty Evacuation event during the crucible on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., June 28, 2024. Recruits give the five paragraph order to boost their leadership skills for events during the Crucible.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Throughout recruit training, Omotoye would find strengthen in two things\u2014 the belief that he was making a difference in his family\u2019s life and his wife Alexis.<\/p>\n

During training Alexis would send Omotoye motivational quotes and prayers as well as photos of the two of them together. Omotoye said he looked at these photos daily for inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe helped me not quit,\u201d said Omotoye. \u201cShe motivated me to get up the next day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

On June 28, 2024, Omotoye finished the grueling 54-hour Crucible and was awarded the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor by his drill instructor Sgt. Devon Evoldi. Many Marines teared up during the ceremony when they were handed their EGA. Omotoye admitted he was no different.
\u201cHe gave me a speech about how he saw me sort of grow up throughout recruit training,\u201d said Omotoye. \u201cThat\u2019s something that will probably stick with me the rest of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, Omotoye and his fellow Marines once again recited the Oath of Enlistment, by raising their right hands and affirming their promise to defend our nation and its values. The oath served as a reminder for Omotoye of why his family came to the US.<\/p>\n

“To me, earning the title of United States Marine means being able to fight for freedoms others aren’t able to, to lend a hand when others can’t, to reach new heights for future generations, and to continue the honor and legacy of my family,” said Omotoye.<\/p>\n

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PARRIS ISLAND, SC — Staring out the window, Oluwagbemiga Omotoye saw the skyline of Washington, D.C. as his plane landed at Dulles International Airport. He and his family had traveled nearly 8,000 miles from South Africa and the city was a welcomed sight. The United States represented change and new opportunities for Omotoye, who was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":221934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221932"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221935,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221932\/revisions\/221935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/221934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=221932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=221932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}