For those of that are not connected to me on Facebook or don't have an account I would like to introduce to you my nephew, PFC Velez, Daniel, United States Marine Corps.
So, I would like to share a small personal story with you. As some of you may know I never finished boot camp and I usually never get into the details, including with my wife. And we met the year I was discharged 32 years ago. While I've gotten over it to an extent the trip to Parris Island was nostalgic and bittersweet.
So on the way back, as we're all in the van, I was driving, and my nephew and I are exchanging comparison stories about boot camp, D.I.'s and such. My then wife asked how far did I get. I responded, 10 weeks. Spent a week in medical going through a battery of tests, one week out processing, and I arrived home exactly one week before my platoon graduated. My wife was like, "Wow!"
So at that point, my nephew, who was sitting behind me sat up, spoke on my ear, although loud enough for everyone to hear, and said "I finished it for you, Uncle!" Needless to say the road got very blurry of a sudden.
I really dawned on me how much of an influence I've been to him and, dare I say, how much he's looked up to me.
Love that kid and I'm so proud of him.