Marcus Smalley, USN, Ret.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the veterans of the area were guests of honor at the annual Veterans Luncheon sponsored by
the Downtown Vidalia Association, and this year, the turnout was the best it had been in years.
Marcus Smalley, a local Navy veteran who actively made the military his career was the keynote speaker and says joining the service was the best thing that could have happened to him as a young man.
“Mr. Bernard Thomas took me to a program called ‘Scared Straight’ where they take you into the prison,” Smalley said. “It’s not that I was a bad child; I was just mischievous. Mr. Thomas told me, ‘You need to go into the military.’ My best friend said he wanted to go into the Navy and I said, “I’ll go with you!’”
The two friends completed their paperwork with the recruiter, but Smalley didn’t go. Some time later, the two young men got into a scuffle and were arrested. Smalley said that opened their eyes.
“The next day, we were gone,” he said. “We went to boot camp together. But then he was sent somewhere else as was I.”
Smalley served 20 years and was deployed 10 times, including a tour in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. He says he believes enlisting in a branch of the military is something all young people should consider.
“I believe the military is so underrated,” he said. “People think you join to fight, but that’s not true. The benefits are good, and you can get a great education. Yes, it’s true: The military is going to push you; it’s going to pull you. But if you put your whole heart into it, it’s a great choice. Just like life, what you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it.”
He also said that military brothers and sisters become just like biological ones.
“Sometimes you’re brothers and sisters at a distance, but at the end of the day, you’re still family, and I still have military brothers and sisters who call me to this day. They ARE family. That’s what the military is!”
