Shaffer
01-30-04, 07:00 AM
Surf’s up dude! Riding waves all day long could seem like the perfect life.
Once upon a time in Hawaii, it was the perfect life for a young surfer by the name of Jeff Cerezo.
Until one day, Cerezo realized that all semblance of anything out of the ordinary from his life was gone like wax on a board after a hard day of surfing. All that was left was simply normal.
In 1993, Cerezo, a 17-year-old high school dropout, landed himself a body-board sponsor. He was living on the big island of Hawaii, and according to him, loving every minute.
“I was back home surfing, just living it up,” he said. “I was making pretty good money, and life was pretty good for a single guy.”
Then something happened. One day Cerezo woke up, he was 25, and life was the same as it had been for the last eight years.
“It just started getting boring and extremely repetitive,” he said. “I lacked the discipline to set myself in the right direction.”
Finally, after years had passed during his wayward life, four planes flown by terrorists changed his life, along with the world, forever.
“I remember waking up and my uncle said, ‘we’re under attack!’” he stated. “I thought he was joking until I saw it on TV. I never really thought about the military until then.”
Cerezo reflected on his relatives’ experiences at that moment and saw almost every service represented by them. Every service, that is, except one.
“I always wanted a challenge,” he declared. “If I represent something, I want it to be the best of the best. So I joined the Marine Corps.”
A year and a half later, Lance Cpl. Jeff Cerezo, CH-46E crew chief, flies the deadly skies with his new family in Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161, Marine Aircraft Group 16.
At 25 years old, he was the honor man and iron man of his company in recruit training. He was also the guide at his military occupational school.
Cerezo claims to have needed discipline in his pre-Marine Corps years, but even without discipline, his experience became a useful tool.
“I was always the guide, everywhere I went,” he noted. “I think it was the maturity. I was older than most of my drill instructors. People notice maturity.”
About four years after Cerezo dropped out of high school to start surfing in tropical paradise, another average guy was fighting his way through civilian life in Bountiful, Utah.
Ronnie Matthews, a 25-year-old man with a wife and child, had an epiphany. He had nothing to show for his life but a string of dead-end jobs and an unfinished life-long goal of a college degree.
He needed a way out and the answer slapped him in the face every day in the form of the adventurous commercials depicting the United States Armed Forces.
“You hear about the excitement all the time and I always wanted to join the military,” Matthews explained. “I just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”
Matthews decided in the summer of 1997 to join the Marine Corps. His reason for choosing the Corps was not so different than Cerezo’s. He simply said they were the toughest and the best.
The transition was hard to make, mostly because of his age, Matthews explained, but he found a purpose to pull him through.
“Being older, I felt a responsibility to pass on things I knew about life in general,” he said. “I’ve always had this (urge) to teach things I’ve already been through.”
Seven years later, 31-year-old, Sgt. Ronnie Matthews, CH-46E crew chief, is still teaching life lessons to his younger counterparts in HMM-161, MAG-16.
It was at MAG-16 where he noticed a Marine named Cerezo, who like Matthews, was just a little older than the rest of the Marines.
Cerezo said the younger Marines need their older counterparts for their maturity, regardless of rank.
“They need a role model, someone to look up to, someone who is able to control their emotions and get the job done,” said Cerezo.
Cerezo said the older Marines possess a strength that comes from life lessons gained from the “school of hard knocks.”
“We’ve been through the hard times of trying to find ourselves,” he explained. “I know who I am and I know what I want. I think this sets us apart.”
He said he has a tip for the younger Marines.
“With age comes maturity,” he said. “You get a different perspective on life. Sometimes people talk when they should listen. That’s one of the keys to life ... learning.”
Matthews noted that it takes a mature man to realize his own need for discipline.
“This life is a lot more structured than civilian life,” he said. “Some people need that.”
Cerezo said he sees a lot of maturity in Matthews as well, which is something older Marines like he and Matthews seem to share, he added.
“Even though we’re from different places, we have a lot of stuff in common,” Cerezo revealed. “Things like our love for the Corps and country. It kind of bonds us together and gives us mutual respect.”
As for his life since becoming a Marine, Cerezo claims it’s anything but boring or repetitive.
“I have a wife that I love and we’re about to have a kid,” he exclaimed. “I’m so stoked about that. That’s my motivation. It’s a beautiful thing.”
For Matthews, he says his life is just as good, since he made the choice to become one of the few and the proud.
“I think my life is going in a good direction,” he said. “I’m maintaining my goal of getting a degree. The Marine Corps has made everything more attainable.”
Matthews and his wife now live happily with their three children, he said. The Marine Corps family has welcomed him and he found the excitement he was looking for, he added.
“I love being a part of the Marine Corps,” Matthews concluded. “There is camaraderie and brotherhood. The relationships you build here last forever.”
Once upon a time in Hawaii, it was the perfect life for a young surfer by the name of Jeff Cerezo.
Until one day, Cerezo realized that all semblance of anything out of the ordinary from his life was gone like wax on a board after a hard day of surfing. All that was left was simply normal.
In 1993, Cerezo, a 17-year-old high school dropout, landed himself a body-board sponsor. He was living on the big island of Hawaii, and according to him, loving every minute.
“I was back home surfing, just living it up,” he said. “I was making pretty good money, and life was pretty good for a single guy.”
Then something happened. One day Cerezo woke up, he was 25, and life was the same as it had been for the last eight years.
“It just started getting boring and extremely repetitive,” he said. “I lacked the discipline to set myself in the right direction.”
Finally, after years had passed during his wayward life, four planes flown by terrorists changed his life, along with the world, forever.
“I remember waking up and my uncle said, ‘we’re under attack!’” he stated. “I thought he was joking until I saw it on TV. I never really thought about the military until then.”
Cerezo reflected on his relatives’ experiences at that moment and saw almost every service represented by them. Every service, that is, except one.
“I always wanted a challenge,” he declared. “If I represent something, I want it to be the best of the best. So I joined the Marine Corps.”
A year and a half later, Lance Cpl. Jeff Cerezo, CH-46E crew chief, flies the deadly skies with his new family in Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161, Marine Aircraft Group 16.
At 25 years old, he was the honor man and iron man of his company in recruit training. He was also the guide at his military occupational school.
Cerezo claims to have needed discipline in his pre-Marine Corps years, but even without discipline, his experience became a useful tool.
“I was always the guide, everywhere I went,” he noted. “I think it was the maturity. I was older than most of my drill instructors. People notice maturity.”
About four years after Cerezo dropped out of high school to start surfing in tropical paradise, another average guy was fighting his way through civilian life in Bountiful, Utah.
Ronnie Matthews, a 25-year-old man with a wife and child, had an epiphany. He had nothing to show for his life but a string of dead-end jobs and an unfinished life-long goal of a college degree.
He needed a way out and the answer slapped him in the face every day in the form of the adventurous commercials depicting the United States Armed Forces.
“You hear about the excitement all the time and I always wanted to join the military,” Matthews explained. “I just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”
Matthews decided in the summer of 1997 to join the Marine Corps. His reason for choosing the Corps was not so different than Cerezo’s. He simply said they were the toughest and the best.
The transition was hard to make, mostly because of his age, Matthews explained, but he found a purpose to pull him through.
“Being older, I felt a responsibility to pass on things I knew about life in general,” he said. “I’ve always had this (urge) to teach things I’ve already been through.”
Seven years later, 31-year-old, Sgt. Ronnie Matthews, CH-46E crew chief, is still teaching life lessons to his younger counterparts in HMM-161, MAG-16.
It was at MAG-16 where he noticed a Marine named Cerezo, who like Matthews, was just a little older than the rest of the Marines.
Cerezo said the younger Marines need their older counterparts for their maturity, regardless of rank.
“They need a role model, someone to look up to, someone who is able to control their emotions and get the job done,” said Cerezo.
Cerezo said the older Marines possess a strength that comes from life lessons gained from the “school of hard knocks.”
“We’ve been through the hard times of trying to find ourselves,” he explained. “I know who I am and I know what I want. I think this sets us apart.”
He said he has a tip for the younger Marines.
“With age comes maturity,” he said. “You get a different perspective on life. Sometimes people talk when they should listen. That’s one of the keys to life ... learning.”
Matthews noted that it takes a mature man to realize his own need for discipline.
“This life is a lot more structured than civilian life,” he said. “Some people need that.”
Cerezo said he sees a lot of maturity in Matthews as well, which is something older Marines like he and Matthews seem to share, he added.
“Even though we’re from different places, we have a lot of stuff in common,” Cerezo revealed. “Things like our love for the Corps and country. It kind of bonds us together and gives us mutual respect.”
As for his life since becoming a Marine, Cerezo claims it’s anything but boring or repetitive.
“I have a wife that I love and we’re about to have a kid,” he exclaimed. “I’m so stoked about that. That’s my motivation. It’s a beautiful thing.”
For Matthews, he says his life is just as good, since he made the choice to become one of the few and the proud.
“I think my life is going in a good direction,” he said. “I’m maintaining my goal of getting a degree. The Marine Corps has made everything more attainable.”
Matthews and his wife now live happily with their three children, he said. The Marine Corps family has welcomed him and he found the excitement he was looking for, he added.
“I love being a part of the Marine Corps,” Matthews concluded. “There is camaraderie and brotherhood. The relationships you build here last forever.”