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MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 4, 2014 – For
most recruits here, their arrival to recruit training is their first
taste of the Marine Corps. But for some, it is a way of life passed
on from generation to generation.
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Marine Corps Pfc. Lucas M. Polk climbs a hill as part of the
Basilone's Challenge event during The Crucible at Edson Range,
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 19, 2014. Polk is a
third-generation Marine. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Pedro
Cardenas)
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A third-generation Marine, Pfc. Lucas M. Polk is continuing his
family legacy. But before he enlisted, he said, his future was
heading in a completely different direction.
Polk went to
college briefly, majoring in communications. While in college, he
decided to give the music world a try. He was part of two heavy
metal bands: Damien Deadson and Surreal Spectrum. He toured the
United States and released a CD with each band.
But the
22-year-old Tampa Bay, Fla., native said he was a different person
then. He had long hair, he said, and sometimes dressed in dark
clothes. The bands split, leaving Polk looking for a new line of
work. He called his father, retired Marine Corps Maj. Morgan M.
Polk, to seek advice.
His father told him that enlisting in
the Marine Corps was one of the best decisions of his life, he said.
While attending his brother's recruit training graduation in
May, Polk recalled, Marines yelled the traditional “Ooh-rah!” in
response to the senior drill instructors' final dismissal. . That
moment, he said, solidified his decision to become a Marine. “It was
really inspiring,” he said. “I knew then that I would be back.”
While growing up, Polk lived at several Marine Corps stations,
including Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., and overseas in Panama.
He always had a good time being around Marines, he said, so becoming
a Marine was second-nature.
“I always thought about the Marines, because I was raised by
Marines,” he said. “I had discipline instilled in me and had a very
structured childhood. I feel like I had an awesome childhood because
of the Marine Corps.”
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Polk said his grandfather, also a Marine, told him in his
childhood he, too, would become one. Polk's grandfather graduated
from recruit training here in 1948. Polk also recalled wearing
T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, “I'm not a kid; I am a future
Marine.”
“My father always had camouflage paint, and when we
were out in the woods, he would teach us how to shoot,” Polk said.
“I knew the weapons safety rules since I was a kid. When I got here,
I knew why my dad taught them to us.”
Polk's father said he
did not expect his son to enlist in the Marine Corps, but that he
was especially happy when he did.
“I told him what my dad
told me: ‘You don't know what you are getting into. This will be an
abrupt awakening,'” said the retired major, who began his career
here in January 1982. “I didn't influence him to become a Marine,
but it fills me with a sense of pride.”
For Polk, the next
step in his training is to attend the School of Infantry at Marine
Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., to become a rifleman. He said he
hopes to continue his education and possibly to become a
commissioned officer like his father.
“I feel privileged to
be able to continue my family tradition,” he said. “I feel proud to
serve. I was supposed to do this. It's in my blood.”
By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Pedro Cardenas
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2014
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