Sunday, September 16, 2007

Two Goddard grads become Marines

Richard Jacques
Staff Writer

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Just months after graduating from Goddard High School, two young men from Roswell are walking a little taller with a new sense of pride which they say comes with their new title - Marines.

Now home and working as recruiting assistants after surviving 13 weeks of basic training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, Calif., Pfc Billy Palombi and Pvt. Rudy Rascon believe they have come a long way in just a few months.

"I did something with my life that was earned, not given," said Palombi, looking forward to shipping out Sept. 25 to California, for eight weeks of infantry school at Camp Pendleton, to become an infantry man, a career he chose while still a senior in high school. "It's what the Marine Corps is known for."

The new Marine said the hardest part about bootcamp was leaving.

"You spend three months with your platoon ... their your family. You bleed, you cry, you do everything together, it's hard to leave that, it really is," said Palombi, a former troubled teen who worked as a server at a local restaurant before joining the military.

Joining the Marines to better himself, gain respect and serve his country, Palombi said he has accomplished his mission and straightened himself out.

"Honestly, I'd probably be in trouble now with the law," he said, reflecting on what he might be doing if he didn't decide to join the military. Admittedly more conscious of his actions now, Palombi knows he will serve in Iraq, which is what he wants to do. "That's what we're here for. I want to go over there and make a difference so my kids don't have to deal with all of the terrorism."

Rascon agrees.

"If I go to Iraq, I don't mind," said the new Leatherneck, leery of media bias regarding the war. "I really don't care what the media says about the Marine Corps. I just know that I'm a Marine and I'm going to take care of my fellow Marines."

When asked how the Marines has changed him, Rascon said it's the discipline and bearing he has learned from his drill instructors and fellow Marines has earned him respect.

"Whenever somebody would say something to me I used to being aggressive to them," said Rascon, looking back on his high school days. "I had anger issues. Now I have discipline. I'm a Marine ... I know if I am doing something wrong, I stop myself."

He said his friends and family have noticed the change.

"My family, friends and former teachers were amazed. "They said, 'We thought you weren't going to make it because you were jumping off the walls and stuff,'" said Rascon, happy to be enjoying some home cooked meals.

"The first thing I wanted to do when I got home was go to my grandma's house and get some tamales," said Rascon, headed to Camp Pendleton in a few weeks for 17 days of Marine combat training before getting advanced motor vehicle transportation training in Calif.

Now having to separate after spending nearly three months together as 1st Battlion, Bravo Company recruits at MCRD San Diego. The two say they have formed a bond as both Marines and friends and will remain close after proving their critics wrong.

"I've proved to all of those people that I can be someone, and I did it myself," said Rascon, walking proud as a new Marine.

Ellie