Pfcs. Brian and Matthew Lentz, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion,
on Marine boot camp graduation day (Nov. 21, 2011) after 13 weeks apart. The two brothers chose to go through training in separate platoons. Photo by
USMC Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes |
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PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (11/22/2011) - Most recruits in training
probably wish they had a familiar face beside them to make it
easier, but for twin brothers graduating today, it was different.
Brian and Matthew Lentz, from Salisbury, N.C., arrived to
recruit training on the buddy system, but were accidentally
separated. When given the option to be placed together, they chose
to remain with their platoons and endure the rest of the 13 weeks
apart.
“Once we realized they were twins, we tried to put
them in the same platoon,” said Staff Sgt. Cecil Compton, senior
drill instructor for Platoon 1089, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit
Training Battalion.
“But they said no – they wanted to stay
with their platoons. To me, that meant a lot because it showed pride
in your unit.”
But for the Lentz brothers, having their own
platoons was also another part of growing up. |
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“We've done
everything together our whole lives,” said Pfc. Brian Lentz, Plt.
1089. “I just wanted to be
separate from him in my own platoon and go through this without
someone I knew when I first got there.” |
The twins chose to enlist when they were 17 years old,
while still in high school.
“Matthew is the one that
early on I could tell had a great interest in the military,”
said Patricia Lentz, the new Marines' mother. “It was later
that Brian showed that same interest.”
Although they
shared the same interest in service, the 18-year-olds joined
the Corps for different reasons.
“I decided that if I
was going to join the military, I would do the hardest one
to prove something about myself,” Brian Lentz said.
On
the other hand, Pfc. Matthew Lentz, Plt. 1088, joined to be
different from his peers, who enlisted in the Army.
“People say ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,'” he said.
“It's a big deal to be a part of something that has such a
big history.”
The Lentz brothers used that same pride to
fuel them through recruit training.
Although it took
a big toll physically and emotionally on the brothers,
weakness could not be shown when competing against one
another.
“They've always tried to be better than the
other,” Patricia Lentz said. “There's been that good,
healthy competitive spirit all throughout their lives.”
The drill instructors also pushed the recruits to
compete against each other to represent their platoons.
“They're all about competition against each other,”
Compton said.
“It's the identical twin thing;
they're always trying to break away from one another. I
think that's what has driven them through recruit training –
to stand out.”
And even as the teens argued about who
won what competition, one thing was clear: these two
brothers were anything but identical.
“They have
really done well to develop into their own person,” Patricia
Lentz said. “They have been able to develop their own idea
of who they are and what they want to do. That good,
brotherly, competitive spirit is there, but they really,
truly care about each other and they do get along pretty
well.”
By USMC Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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