The day Mark Bradley graduated high school, he went to the U.S. Marine Corps recruitment office.
Inspired by his Uncle Bob, who served in Korea, he’d dreamed of enlisting since he was 5 years old, and at 17, he headed down to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He served for four years, from 1974 to 1978.
“It was something that my family does,” Bradley said. His dad was awarded a Purple Heart medal for his service in Japan.
In those four years, Mark Bradley served in several roles and also went abroad to London, Israel and Egypt. He said the 17 months he spent in Morocco were the best of his life.
Bradley, who now lives in Greenville, said the Marines shaped his formative years. “It’s where I became me,” he said. Decades later, at 68, he treasures his time in the service and the philosophies it embedded in him.
The U.S. Marine Corps turns 250 years old on Monday, an important milestone for veterans like Bradley. It was founded on Nov. 10, 1775, and is guided by the mantras “Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas,” which mean “Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever.”
Bradley has that tattooed on his arm, and he lives by another philosophy ingrained in his service: “Once a Marine, Always a Marine.”
Any time he sees another Marine — even just in passing — there’s a shared understanding, Bradley said. No matter if you’ve never met, he said, if you’re a Marine, you’re his brother.
“It’s a brotherhood. It’s something that you own,” Bradley said. “It makes me cry because I feel it so deeply. It’s all mixed up with not only being a Marine, but also being an American, having pride in what you do and loving your country.”
There are several events around New Hampshire celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, including a ball at the Easterseals Veterans Campus in Franklin; a Seacoast birthday dinner at the Old Salt & Lamie’s Restaurant and Inn in Hampton; and a ceremony and breakfast at the New Hampshire State House.
