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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Cpl. Luke D. Frank, an administrative
specialist with the 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary
Force administrative section, received the Society of
American-Indian Government Employees Meritorious Service Award in
Albuquerque, N.M., June 12, 2014.
The SAIGE Meritorious
Service Award honors servicemembers and Department of Defense
civilian employees who support global military and humanitarian
missions.
Frank, a 21-year-old from Chinle, Ariz., with
Navajo heritage, received the SAIGE Meritorious Award for the
selfless use of his free-time.
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Cpl. Luke D. Frank, an administrative specialist with the 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force administrative section,
received the Society of American-Indian Government Employees
Meritorious Service Award in Albuquerque, N.M., June 12, 2014. The
SAIGE Meritorious Service Award honors service members and
Department of Defense civilian employees who support global military
and humanitarian missions.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Anna Albrecht)
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“I do a lot of volunteer work when I go home,” Frank
said. “I'm a member of the chapter houses, and I help out
there.”
Frank helps take care of elderly residents'
lawns by pulling weeds in the spring and brings them chopped
wood in the winter, he said.
Frank also volunteers at soup kitchens around
his hometown.
Frank also has a hand in many events
around base. He recently helped clean up houses near San
Onofre, and is currently helping with the World-Famous MCCS
Mud Run.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Damian Moreno, a native
of East Chicago, Ind., and the operations and manpower staff
noncommissioned officer in charge, has worked with Frank
since 2011 and was one of the men who put Frank up for the
award.
“It was great for him to be recognized for the
award, not just because he is Native American, but because
he is an all-around good Marine,” Moreno said. “He has a
great future for him whether he stays in or gets out.”
Since arriving at his unit, Frank has been a great
asset, Moreno said. His ability to learn the systems helped
him achieve the rank of corporal meritoriously. We even put
him on a meritorious sergeant board, but the competition was
really tough, he added.
“The Marine Corps comes out
with a list of awards that they can give out every year, and
we can choose to put someone up for them or not,” Moreno
explained. “So, I got together with my staff NCOs and we
started putting the package together.”
The paperwork
was started without telling Frank, Moreno said. He is very
humble about the amount of volunteer work he does.
“I
don't have the volunteer log sheet, because I don't care
about that,” Frank said. “Sometimes I don't even get letters
of appreciation for the work; I just go and do it.”
When Frank found out about the award, he was very humbled by
it, Moreno said. He's not doing it for gratitude or to be
recognized, he is just doing it because it's the right thing
to do.
“Thank you everybody for recognizing me, but I
was just doing my job,” Frank said.
Courtesy of 1 Marine Expeditionary Force
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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