thedrifter
03-31-09, 05:43 AM
Rapid City officer loves the Marines and his parents
By Colleen Brunner, Butte County Post correspondent
NISLAND -- Rapid City police officer Darryl Brumbaugh loves his parents and is not afraid to show it.
It would not be unusual for him to show up at the Nisland Independent Community Church to spend a Sunday with his parents, Stan and Lou Brumbaugh, of rural Nisland. He has done that several times since Feb. 28, when he retired from active duty with the Marines.
But one recent Sunday, Darryl showed up in his Marine dress uniform. And he showed up early, long before his parents were due to arrive. He had to prepare for a special presentation he was to make to his parents, and especially his father, Stan.
“My dad taught me everything,” Brumbaugh said.
He called the pastor of the Nisland church, Doug Clark, to plan the presentation during the morning service. It is tradition in the Marines that, when a serviceman or woman retires, he or she is presented with a special commemorative flag that has been flown over some military installation for a day.
In Darryl’s case, his flag was flown over the U.S.S. Arizona memorial on October 2, 2008, and then presented to him at the retirement ceremony in November 2008.
Another part of the tradition is that the Marine then presents that flag to someone special in his life, usually his parents or wife. Since Darryl’s mother and especially his father had been very supportive of his decision to join the Marines, he wanted to present his flag to his father. But when Darryl’s retirement ceremony was held in Virginia, his parents were not able to attend. That was the reason for the phone call to Pastor Clark.
The ceremony was a complete surprise to Stan and Lou.
They knew Darryl was coming, but when they walked into the church and his mother saw him dressed in full uniform, she clapped her hands over her mouth and got tears in her eyes. Big hugs were shared, and Darryl sat down to attend the service with his parents.
The pastor called Darryl to the podium where he spoke about his enlistment, time of service and his retirement. He talked about the ceremony and that his parents were not able to attend. He pulled out the flag and walked down the aisle to where his parents were seated and, with tears, presented the flag to his father.
“It is my desire to present the flag to the person who had had the biggest impact on my life, the person who made me what I am today,” Darryl said.
In his 26-year service, Darryl earned the rank of Master Sergeant and received numerous commendations including: Presidential Unit Citation, two Meritorious Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Commendation, three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons and two Overseas Deployment Ribbons.
He also received two Meritorious Service Medals, a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal and an Achievement Medal, two National Defense Medals, a Marine Corps Reserve Medal, an Armed Forces Reserve Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, as well as the Iraqi Campaign Medal.
He served three tours in Iraq and also served in various other locations throughout the world, including California, Florida, Virginia, Kuwait, Colorado, Hawaii and Alaska.
Darryl has two children, Danelle and Brent, and a brother and two sisters. After his retirement, he joined the Rapid City Police Department, where he is a senior patrolman.
“I am slowly adjusting to being back in a patrol car, and I went through 12 weeks of refresher training,” Darryl said. He will be living in Rapid City, close enough to visit his parents whenever he likes.
Ellie
By Colleen Brunner, Butte County Post correspondent
NISLAND -- Rapid City police officer Darryl Brumbaugh loves his parents and is not afraid to show it.
It would not be unusual for him to show up at the Nisland Independent Community Church to spend a Sunday with his parents, Stan and Lou Brumbaugh, of rural Nisland. He has done that several times since Feb. 28, when he retired from active duty with the Marines.
But one recent Sunday, Darryl showed up in his Marine dress uniform. And he showed up early, long before his parents were due to arrive. He had to prepare for a special presentation he was to make to his parents, and especially his father, Stan.
“My dad taught me everything,” Brumbaugh said.
He called the pastor of the Nisland church, Doug Clark, to plan the presentation during the morning service. It is tradition in the Marines that, when a serviceman or woman retires, he or she is presented with a special commemorative flag that has been flown over some military installation for a day.
In Darryl’s case, his flag was flown over the U.S.S. Arizona memorial on October 2, 2008, and then presented to him at the retirement ceremony in November 2008.
Another part of the tradition is that the Marine then presents that flag to someone special in his life, usually his parents or wife. Since Darryl’s mother and especially his father had been very supportive of his decision to join the Marines, he wanted to present his flag to his father. But when Darryl’s retirement ceremony was held in Virginia, his parents were not able to attend. That was the reason for the phone call to Pastor Clark.
The ceremony was a complete surprise to Stan and Lou.
They knew Darryl was coming, but when they walked into the church and his mother saw him dressed in full uniform, she clapped her hands over her mouth and got tears in her eyes. Big hugs were shared, and Darryl sat down to attend the service with his parents.
The pastor called Darryl to the podium where he spoke about his enlistment, time of service and his retirement. He talked about the ceremony and that his parents were not able to attend. He pulled out the flag and walked down the aisle to where his parents were seated and, with tears, presented the flag to his father.
“It is my desire to present the flag to the person who had had the biggest impact on my life, the person who made me what I am today,” Darryl said.
In his 26-year service, Darryl earned the rank of Master Sergeant and received numerous commendations including: Presidential Unit Citation, two Meritorious Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Commendation, three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons and two Overseas Deployment Ribbons.
He also received two Meritorious Service Medals, a Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal and an Achievement Medal, two National Defense Medals, a Marine Corps Reserve Medal, an Armed Forces Reserve Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, as well as the Iraqi Campaign Medal.
He served three tours in Iraq and also served in various other locations throughout the world, including California, Florida, Virginia, Kuwait, Colorado, Hawaii and Alaska.
Darryl has two children, Danelle and Brent, and a brother and two sisters. After his retirement, he joined the Rapid City Police Department, where he is a senior patrolman.
“I am slowly adjusting to being back in a patrol car, and I went through 12 weeks of refresher training,” Darryl said. He will be living in Rapid City, close enough to visit his parents whenever he likes.
Ellie