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thedrifter
06-21-09, 08:52 AM
Marine gets pinned at Columbia Park
Last updated: June 21st, 2009 01:45 AM (PDT)

KENNEWICK -- Nathan Gravelle, 22, of Kennewick took an oath Saturday, becoming an officer and a Marine in a commissioning ceremony at the Regional Veterans Memorial in Columbia Park.

It was a significant moment in a life accelerating, gaining both meaning and momentum seemingly by the month.

Several Marine officials were present, and Gravelle, who became a second lieutenant, was pinned by his parents, Paul and June Gravelle. Then, as is tradition, he gave his first salute as a Marine -- to his uncle, retired Marine 1st Sgt. Tom Gravelle of Spokane.

Gravelle entered the Marine Corps as an officer because his goal is to be a fighter pilot. The 2004 graduate of Kennewick High School said he has wanted to fly jets since he was 15, and he chose the Marines because they could guarantee him that opportunity.

First he had to become an officer, so he spent 10 weeks last summer in Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

He took the usual grief that all Marine recruits endure, but it was geared toward making him into an officer. In the classroom and in the field, he soaked up Marine Corps history, honed his physique and developed military and leadership skills.

"It was definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had," Gravelle said. "Got the opportunity to train with the best of the best, learn from what they did and got a lot of training."

But when he was done, while most of his buddies received the reward of being called a Marine, he put off the honor for another 10 months so he could finish college, a necessary step to becoming an officer.

After all the Marine training, it was hard not to go right into the Corps, he said.

He spent the year attending Washington State University in Pullman, and he succumbed some to the temptation to just be a college student again. But not completely. He worked at staying in shape, and his newfound discipline translated to the best grades he earned in college.

After graduation, ambivalence wasn't even a factor. With much behind him, he has more to do. He'll marry his fiance, Krista Shepherd of Mount Vernon, next month, and then he'll continue his Marine training in the fall. He plans to start flight school next summer in Pensacola, Fla.

"In talking with Nathan, we reminded him that now that he has his degree, he could go get a job and start his life," Paul Gravelle said. "He would have no part of that. He wants to serve his country first, as he put it. He has his whole life to find a job and go to work."

Ellie