Gregory Patrick completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, and Marine Combat Training an hour away at Camp Pendleton.
He then went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for schoolhouse to work in motor transport and has since been stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
His younger brother, Jason Patrick, followed the exact same path.
Being a Patrick, Gregory said he joined the Marines because he wanted to be the best he could be.
After graduating from Brownstown Central High School in 2016, he spent about a year working as an HVAC technician. He decided to enter the military and shipped out Sept. 11, 2017.
“I thought of it a little bit as a kid. I wanted to be a Marine,” the 23-year-old said. “But mostly, the thing that drew me to the military was getting out there, seeing things, doing things, the training. Probably the biggest reason I joined was to give my wife a better life. The military can promise that.”
Jason, 20, said his original plan was to enter the workforce after graduation, but that changed, and he graduated early in February 2019 to join the Marine Corps.
“Throughout my life, I guess you could say that there wasn’t any influence in military, but I had known about it and known about what the Marines do, so it was always in the back of my mind,” Jason said. “Whenever my brother did join, it gave me that push to go and do it for myself.”
The brothers have served with different units at Camp Lejeune, but they have been able to see each other and spend time together when they aren’t fulfilling military duties.
Gregory, however, recently moved to career planner at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, which is about an hour away from Camp Lejeune.
“Basically, I help Marines not only be trained in the Marine Corps but kind of help them set up their life for after the Marine Corps,” he said. “It’s kind of like a guidance counselor, if you will, for the Marines.”
Gregory considers serving in the military not only a huge accomplishment for himself but a legacy to leave behind for his two sons, Eli and Carson.
“One thing I plan on doing is the full 20 years and retiring,” he said. “Obviously, there are a select few people that join the Marine Corps in the first place and then even fewer people that stay in it until the end, if you will. Mostly, my legacy is what I want to leave behind. I want people to remember me as that guy that joined the Marines and did it for 20.”
Jason said joining the military saved him.
“Going into the Marine Corps, it gave me that discipline that I needed to construct me if I do decide to get out or if I decide to stay in, to instruct me and make me a better person, to carry out through everything,” he said.
Right now, he’s not sure if he wants to follow his brother’s plan of making the military a career.
“I’ve still got about a year and eight months left,” Jason said of his first four years of service. “I’ve been on the fence ever since I joined the Marines. I guess I’ll know once that paper gets in front of my face.”
No matter where life takes them, nobody can take away the sense of pride the brothers have in sharing the military experience together.
“Me and Jason in my heart will always have a stronger connection,” Gregory said, noting the camaraderie and brotherhood gained in the Marine Corps.
“Especially as a truck driver, we train to be able to have the courage to get out from behind the Humvee and pick up your wounded buddy and drag him back behind you without the shadow of a doubt,” he said. “So being brothers and then joining the Marine Corps, it’s like being brothers in two different ways. We’re joined by the experience and the pride that we have knowing we’re the two Patricks that stepped up to the plate.”
Jason said it’s great to share that bond with his brother.
“Just knowing that no matter what, he’s got my back and I’ve got his, wherever we are in this state or in the world, I can always count on him, I can always depend on him,” he said. “The camaraderie we had before we joined was good, it was great, but now, it’s even better. It just really brought us stronger and closer together.”
With Independence Day being Sunday, the Patricks will take time to reflect on their experience together so far and the freedoms they enjoy and help provide to others.
“One thing that I’ve definitely learned to respect a lot is the guys that fell down before me,” Gregory said. “The saying ‘All gave some, some gave all’ has a lot more meaning now that we’re in it and we can actually see things. … To me, I guess you could say freedom is a price that was paid in full by those that gave their lives before me.”
Jason agreed.
“It’s definitely earned. It’s not given. It’s something that you have to work for,” he said. “The people that came before us, they definitely did give all for us to be able to do what we do, for everybody to be able to live in what you call a free country. Knowing what they did for us and if that time was to come that I would be willing to do that for everyone else, it’s definitely a price.”