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thedrifter
12-05-05, 09:24 AM
Pleasant Hill twins take 'identical' path to Marines
Sunday, December 4, 2005
By Pvt. Charlie Chavez

Special to The Herald-Whig

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — "Recruit Wombles times two!" yelled the drill instructor as two heads popped up simultaneously. Acknowledging the call, they both rose to their feet and ran to the front of the barracks.

Cody and Kyle Wombles grew up in the small town of Pleasant Hill, Ill. Living in a town with less than 1,000 people, the two Company F recruits welcomed the idea of being identical twins in a new, ethnically diverse environment.

Said Cody: "The only way our drill instructors can tell us apart is by the ..."

" ... mole on my face," said Kyle, finishing his twin's thought. "During chow, the drill instructors would ask the second one of us why we were in line trying to get seconds."

The pair takes turns finishing each other's sentences — frequently.

"Other recruits in the platoon always tell us how lucky we are and how they wish that their brothers could be here training with them," Kyle said.

Taking on the challenge of joining the military was an ambition the twins shared as young boys.

"We decided on the Marines, because it looked like it was the hardest," said Kyle, as Cody nodded his head in agreement. "Our mother didn't want us to go, but we told her when we turned 18 we were going to join."

"They probably put it mildly," said their mother, Cheryl Wombles.

But after several discussions and heated words, she ultimately found herself supporting their decision.

"Kyle didn't voice his opinion to want to leave Illinois as much as Cody, but they both want to see different things," she said.

Cheryl then signed the parental consent form allowing them to join the Marines at the age of 17. The boys were born Dec. 17, 1986.

"She signed our papers and we asked our recruiter to get us to go as soon as possible," Cody said. "But he didn't have any open spots until after the summer," added Kyle.

Putting themselves on the waiting list for open spots, the two did encounter an opening, but only for one of them.

"At first I was ready to take it," Cody said. "Then I realized it wasn't enough time to say good-bye to everyone, so I passed it up."

In early August, the twins finally made it into boot camp as infantrymen.

Having each other to rely on during training has helped the twins excel in the challenging environment. In a letter that Cheryl received from Kyle, she believed that he was becoming homesick and needed reassurance.

"I told him that he needed to buck up and take it like a man," she said. "I also told his brother to look out for him — which makes me look hard — but I knew they would be fine."

Following their mother's guidance, the twins did well throughout training.

"They are basically joined at the hip," said Sgt. Jefferson A. Rivas, Platoon 2126, Co. F drill instructor. "Whenever one reports for something, instead of picking them apart, they both come up."

Both recruits averaged roughly the same score on almost every competitive event.

"Every time we went through the obstacle course, the drill instructors would make us race one another," said Kyle.

The twins' kindred mindset made boot camp easier to bear.

"When the drill instructors would count down to get us to do things quickly, other recruits were digging through their stuff to look for what was asked," said Kyle. "My brother and I would be much further ahead of everyone else because without a word my brother would have what I needed or I would have what he needed."

Ellie