Gunnery Sgt. Paul Odonnell, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of Marine Corps Recruiting Sub Station Sioux Falls, posed for a photo with Sgt. Sarah McGaffee, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native, after presenting her with the Purple Heart Medal. On Oct. 20th, 2010, while deployed with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, McGaffee’s vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while conducting convoy operations in support of Operation Steel Dawn II in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. McGaffee was awarded her Purple Heart, Dec. 16, 2017 in Sioux Falls, S.D., in front of a detail of Marines and her local friends and family. - Gunnery Sgt. Paul Odonnell, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of Marine Corps Recruiting Sub Station Sioux Falls, posed for a photo with Sgt. Sarah McGaffee, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native, after presenting her with the Purple Heart Medal. On Oct. 20th, 2010, while deployed with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, McGaffee’s vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device while conducting convoy operations in support of Operation Steel Dawn II in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. McGaffee was awarded her Purple Heart, Dec. 16, 2017 in Sioux Falls, S.D., in front of a detail of Marines and her local friends and family.

Sergeant Spencer Day plays the saxophone at Valley Park High School, Dec. 14, in Valley Park, Missouri. Marines with the Marine Corps New Orleans Band entertained students and teachers at various high schools in and around the St. Louis area Dec. 12-14 during its winter recruiting tour. Aside from playing music, the New Orleans, Louisiana-based Marines also educated and informed students and teachers about what life is like being a band Marine. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by GySgt. Bryan A. Peterson/Released) - Sergeant Spencer Day plays the saxophone at Valley Park High School, Dec. 14, in Valley Park, Missouri. Marines with the Marine Corps New Orleans Band entertained students and teachers at various high schools in and around the St. Louis area Dec. 12-14 during its winter recruiting tour. Aside from playing music, the New Orleans, Louisiana-based Marines also educated and informed students and teachers about what life is like being a band Marine. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by GySgt. Bryan A. Peterson/Released)

Colonel David Fallon, commanding officer, 9th Marine Corps District, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, attended the 33rd Annual Convention of the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association as a guest speaker in Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 29, 2017. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Levi Schultz) - Colonel David Fallon, commanding officer, 9th Marine Corps District, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, attended the 33rd Annual Convention of the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association as a guest speaker in Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 29, 2017. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Levi Schultz)

Colonel David Fallon, the 9th Marine Corps District commanding officer, speaks with wrestling coaches during the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Leadership Academy at Shawnee High School, Oct. 19. Fallon spoke to coaches about traits Marines and wrestlers share that make them stand out in society. (Official U.S. Marine photo by Sgt. Marcela Diazdeleon) - Colonel David Fallon, the 9th Marine Corps District commanding officer, speaks with wrestling coaches during the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Leadership Academy at Shawnee High School, Oct. 19. Fallon spoke to coaches about traits Marines and wrestlers share that make them stand out in society. (Official U.S. Marine photo by Sgt. Marcela Diazdeleon)

Colonel David Fallon, the 9th Marine Corps District commanding officer, speaks with wrestling coaches during the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Leadership Academy in Salina, Kan., Oct. 6. Fallon spoke to coaches about the traits between Marines and wrestlers share. In November 2016, the Marine Corps expanded its marketing efforts into the wrestling world to locate and recruit men and women who the Marine Corps believes will be successful in all military occupational specialties. (Official U.S. Marine photo by Sgt. Francisco Martinez) - Colonel David Fallon, the 9th Marine Corps District commanding officer, speaks with wrestling coaches during the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Leadership Academy in Salina, Kan., Oct. 6. Fallon spoke to coaches about the traits between Marines and wrestlers share. In November 2016, the Marine Corps expanded its marketing efforts into the wrestling world to locate and recruit men and women who the Marine Corps believes will be successful in all military occupational specialties. (Official U.S. Marine photo by Sgt. Francisco Martinez)

Marines with Marine Corps Recruiting Command and Recruiting Station St. Louis interact and engage with students at the College Fair during the National Urban League Youth Leadership Summit at the St. Louis Convention Center on July 29, 2017. The theme for this year’s Youth Summit was “Show Me: Turn Talk Into Action.” (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released) - Marines with Marine Corps Recruiting Command and Recruiting Station St. Louis interact and engage with students at the College Fair during the National Urban League Youth Leadership Summit at the St. Louis Convention Center on July 29, 2017. The theme for this year’s Youth Summit was “Show Me: Turn Talk Into Action.” (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released)

The outgoing commanding officer, Col. Jason L. Morris, and incoming commanding officer, Col. David M. Fallon, pose for a photo with the Western Recruiting Region commanding general, Brig. Gen. William Jurney, during the 9MCD Change of Command ceremony aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., on July 7, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released) - The outgoing commanding officer, Col. Jason L. Morris, left, and incoming commanding officer, Col. David M. Fallon, pose for a photo with the Western Recruiting Region Commanding General Brig. Gen. William Jurney, during the 9th Marine Corps District Change of Command ceremony, aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., on July 7, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released)

The 9th Marine Corps District hosted its Family Readiness Conference aboard Fort Snelling, Minnesota, at the Naval Reserve Training Center, June 20-23, 2017. The Family Readiness Program serves as the primary communication link between the command and families of 9th Marine Corps District. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released) - The 9th Marine Corps District hosted its Family Readiness Conference aboard Fort Snelling, Minnesota, at the Naval Reserve Training Center, June 20-23, 2017. The Family Readiness Program serves as the primary communication link between the command and families of 9th Marine Corps District. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released)

The 2nd Marine Division Band from Camp Lejeune, N.C., performs at Overman Park during the Sturgis Falls Celebration in Cedar Falls, Iowa, June 24, 2017. The band presence helps the recruiting efforts in the Midwest, including the Musician Enlisted Option Program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released) - The 2nd Marine Division Band from Camp Lejeune, N.C., performs at Overman Park during the Sturgis Falls Celebration in Cedar Falls, Iowa, June 24, 2017. The band presence helps the recruiting efforts in the Midwest, including the Musician Enlisted Option Program. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Webster/Released)

Two Marines with the 9th Marine Corps District, based out of Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, were on hand to honor four Montford Point Marines, May 27, at the Colp Area Veterans Celebration, Dedication and Remembrance Ceremony, in Colp, Illinois. Nearly 20,000 African-Americans joined the Marine Corps in 1942, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a “presidential directive giving African Americans an opportunity to be recruited in the Marine Corps,” according to the Montford Point Marines Association website. They didn’t receive recruit training at San Diego or Parris Island, however, but Camp Montford Point, N.C., a segregated training site for African American Marine recruits. For the next seven years, the camp remained opened until it became desegregated. The four Marines are Sol Griffin, Jr.; James L. Kirby, Early Taylor, Jr. and Archibald Mosley. These Marines, among many other Montford Point Marines across the country, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that can be given to a civilian by Congress, in 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bryan A. Peterson) - Two Marines with the 9th Marine Corps District, based out of Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, were on hand to honor four Montford Point Marines, May 27, at the Colp Area Veterans Celebration, Dedication and Remembrance Ceremony, in Colp, Illinois. Nearly 20,000 African-Americans joined the Marine Corps in 1942, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a “presidential directive giving African Americans an opportunity to be recruited in the Marine Corps,” according to the Montford Point Marines Association website. They didn’t receive recruit training at San Diego or Parris Island, however, but Camp Montford Point, N.C., a segregated training site for African American Marine recruits. For the next seven years, the camp remained opened until it became desegregated. The four Marines are Sol Griffin, Jr.; James L. Kirby, Early Taylor, Jr. and Archibald Mosley. These Marines, among many other Montford Point Marines across the country, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that can be given to a civilian by Congress, in 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bryan A. Peterson)