In December 2015 my dad, Gordon Powell was diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away three months later. My daughter Alexis Loftus who at the time was a senior at Plainfield East High School, told her Grandpa who she called Popo that she was enlisting in the Marines (he was a Marine) and he has to get better so he can be at her boot camp graduation. However I knew he wasn't even going to make it till her high school graduation which he didn't because he passed away in March. They spent a lot of time talking about how hard it was going to be but she insisted that the Marines was the branch of service she wanted to be a part of. Even though knowing that the Marines is the hardest boot camp to get through and the Marines always go in first, she knew that if she didn't try she would always wonder what if.
On April 20, 2016 my daughter enlisted with the Marines. She told us she knew since 5th grade that she wanted to join the military and senior year she decided it was going to be the Marines. Actually a recruiter that was at the school came up to her and said "you look like a Marine" and that's where it all began. Alexis continued to work hard in school and with her recruiter. She graduated with a 4.8 GPA but knew she wanted to do something with her life where she knew she could help others and make a difference.
In July we unexpectedly lost my mother in law who was planning on attending Alexis' Marine Corps graduation but God had different plans for her. So now Alexis had lost 2 grandparents within 4 months but she continued to train hard because she was not changing her mind. I asked her "Why the Marines?" She said "two reasons, one Popo (Grandpa) is a Marine (once a Marine always a Marine) and because they're the best of the best and I want to be the best of the best." She left her father and I speechless and we knew this was the direction she needed to go in.
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On December 2, 2016 she graduated from Marine Corps Boot Camp on Parris Island, SC and she is now a United States Marine. This picture is from Family Day and was taken on December 1, 2016 by her sister Nicole Loftus. Alexis was saying good bye because she had to report back to her platoon and she was hugging her father. Not until a few days later when of friend of my husbands said "oh my gosh look at the angel watching over you both" did we see it. It took our breathe away and gave us great comfort knowing they (her grandparents that passed away this year that were supposed to be there) were there and have been there and will continue to protect Alexis on her new journey as a United States Marine.
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