Andover family will soon have four Marine children

Andover family will soon have four Marine children
KARE 11 Minneapolis-St. Paul

The Witherill family's property is like a billboard for the Marines, with license plates, bumper stickers and decals covering cars and windows everywhere.

And the odds are good Joe Witherill will put a Marine sticker on the car of anyone who visits their property, too.

This proud Marine veteran never insisted his children follow in his footsteps. But that's what happened. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. But four times.

First his oldest son Albert joined and earned a place on the family's Marine Corps wall in the basement of their home. That inspired oldest daughter Andrea.

"When I went to his graduation, I just saw the pride that he had and how he just stood straighter than everybody else," she says.

Now they're clearing more space on the wall for son Adam, who graduates from basic training in San Diego Friday.

That leaves the youngest child, 17-year-old Annah Jo, who gets sworn into the Marines at Fort Snelling next week.

"I'd kind-of feel left out if everybody was part of the same thing and I was different," she says.

The kids say they made their decisions on their own.

"That's a rare occasion," says father Joe. "There's not too many people who have four in the service at one time, let alone four in the Marine Corps who can be actively called at the same time."

And it may not end there. Andrea gave birth to her first child recently. His name is James Aiden Ramsey. The acronym is J.A.R.

"Marines are known for being Jarheads," Joe says. "So he's a 'bred Marine.'"

Ellie