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thedrifter
07-04-05, 07:01 AM
'He's always had the heart of a Marine'
July 04,2005
CYNDI BROWN
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Fritz Box wore a T-shirt proclaiming "My son â?¦ One of the Few, the proud, the Marines."

It was a top the former Marine didn't think he could ever put on.

Box's sons, Dusty and Hunter, both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a terminal, degenerative disorder that affects voluntary muscles.

But while Dusty, 13, has developed a great interest in all things animal, Hunter has spent the last seven years of his life learning about and loving the military - specifically the Marine Corps.

Hunter had the opportunity to join that service's ranks Wednesday when Camp Lejeune Commanding General Maj. Gen. Robert C. Dickerson proclaimed the 11-year-old an honorary Marine.

"You have now fulfilled what you have wanted to do your entire life," Dickerson told Hunter before presenting him the certificate, signed by the commandant of the Marine Corps, attesting to the honor which is bestowed on very few.

According to information provided by Camp Lejeune, 57 people - including 19 terminally ill children - have received the title of honorary Marine since January 1992. Each recommendation must be approved by the Commandant of the Marine Corps only after extensive consideration.

Toward the end of the morning ceremony, Dickerson and Sgt. Maj. Charles E. Tucker, the base sergeant major, pinned their respective insignia onto Hunter's child-size desert cammies. Hunter was then taken through a "training schedule" that included riding in an M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank and a light armored vehicle, firing at the indoor simulated marksmanship trainer, cruising the waterways on a Riverine Assault Craft and eating in the 8th Marines chow hall.

But all Hunter originally wanted was just to see a tank.

Fritz had called a now-retired Marine Corps buddy who lives in Maysville and explained that Hunter watched History Channel and talked about guns all the time. Then he asked if Ellison thought Fritz could bring his youngest son for a visit.

"He wanted to know if he could come and take his son to see a tank, even if it was in the parking lot," remembered Steve Ellison a retired gunnery sergeant who served with Fritz.

Ellison, however, thought they could do better than that and made a few calls.

"I never imagined it would escalate to this," said Ellison, as he joined the Box family for Hunter's big day.

"The main thing was so Hunter could realize his dream," said Ellison. "He wanted to be a Marine."

Hunter's first stop following the award ceremony was at 2nd Tank Battalion, where even the steady downpour wouldn't keep the boy or his dad from an open-air ride in the M1A1.

"This is the most important mission," said 2nd Tank Commander Lt. Col. Don Morse as he watched his Marines help Hunter get settled atop the tank. "It's good for my men to show them, number one, here's who we are fighting for and to see this young man with daunting challenges â?¦ It lets us know we are truly blessed to be a Marine."

Morse and his tankers presented Hunter a unit coin, the ashcan off an M1A1 projectile with a faceplate dedicating it to Hunter ("We tankers prize those," said Morse. "Not everybody gets one of those.") and more insignia as the Marines lined up to pin their chevrons to his chest.

"Since he was 4 or so, he wanted to be a Marine," said Hunter's mom, Angi, explaining that the stories from his dad and his airman grandfather encouraged Hunter's fascination with the military, particularly the Corps. "He thinks they're toughest. He's not really into the Army."

Hunter, his mom and dad and little sister Sydney arrived at Lejeune on Tuesday while Dusty, whose condition is more progressed, stayed at home in Dunlap, Tenn. The Boxes were planning on leaving Thursday but were considering staying at least an extra day in hopes the rain would let up long enough for them to make it to the beach. But while the weather did force the cancellation of the helicopter flight that Hunter was looking forward to, the rain couldn't put a damper on Hunter's - or his dad's - enthusiasm.

"He's always had the heart of a Marine," said Fritz, a machine gunner who served from 1982 to 1987. "I'm as proud as can be."

Ellie