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 At
a young age growing up in Dothan, Alabama, Hospital Corpsman 2nd
Class Robert Park knew he wanted to join the military like so many
in his family before him. During the summer of his junior year in
high school, Park approached his parents and told them he didn't
want to remain in public school. His goal was to pursue the military
and he wanted to attend Lyman Ward Military Academy, a military
boarding school in Alabama.
“I completed my two remaining years at Lyman Ward Military
Academy and graduated as battalion commander of the school's [Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps,],” Park said.
After graduation, Park attended Troy University to study criminal
justice, but after the first year of school he began to lose focus.
“I partied a little too much,” Park said. “Once my parents found
out, they said ‘no, you're done.'”
Park, no longer a student at the university, applied for classes
at a local community college. Frustrated with the feeling of not
advancing anywhere, he made the decision to quit college all
together.
“I was not going anywhere there,” Park stated. “I was going to go
do what I wanted to do from the start.”Park followed his childhood
goal and the family tradition of military service, enlisting into
the Navy in December of 2006. Several of his family members had
served as pilots in the military, but a different job caught Park's
eye.
“I was looking at the list of jobs available to me and
corpsman stuck out the most, mainly because of my
grandfather,” Park explained. “He was a Marine, and when I
asked him what he thought about it he told me I should be a
corpsman.”
Now a combat trauma management instructor with
the 1st Marine Division Surgeon's Office, Park is given the
opportunity to impact the lives of the Sailors and Marines
he teaches.
“What motivates me the most is seeing that I'm making a
difference,” Park said. “I am the one teaching these Sailors and
Marines how to save lives in combat. I love it. I don't think there
could be another job right now that could make me feel as satisfied
as I do as an instructor. It's always something I am going to hold
on to.” Park added, “I have the torch now and I am going to carry it
on until the next person comes to take it from me.”
Park said the mentorship and support from the Sailors and Marines
he's had the chance to work with during experiences both good and
bad shaped him into the Sailor he is today. Park's hard work and
dedication has not gone unnoticed.
Park's command selected him to represent 1st Marine Division in
front of a review board for I Marine Expeditionary Force Junior
Sailor of the Year, which is recognition of a sailor's superior
performance, outstanding achievement, exemplary personal conduct and
military bearing.
“I was nervous and happy to be selected,” Park explained. “I was
happy to do it because I am representing 1st Marine Division. The
nervous part was that I was representing 1st Marine Division. I'd be
the face of 1st Marine Division's junior Sailor.”
The review board staffed by Navy master chiefs selected Park from
the pool of Sailors in I MEF to earn the prestigious recognition for
his superior performance and outstanding achievements.
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Navy
Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Park, a combat
trauma management instructor with the 1st Marine Division Surgeon's
Office, stands at attention during an award ceremony aboard
Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 29, 2016. Park was selected as I Marine
Expeditionary Force's Junior Sailor of the Year, and was awarded the Navy
and Marine Corps Commendation Medal by Lt. Gen. David Berger,
commanding general of I MEF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Kronenberg)
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Honored by the selection, Park said he finds the most
rewarding part of his job not being selected as Junior
Sailor of the Year but knowing that someday a Sailor or
Marine he had as a student will save a life.
“Whenever something does happen down the line and these Sailors
and Marines I've taught have to go and do what they have been taught
and save someone's life to prevent names from going on memorials, to
prevent names from going on walls, to prevent names from going on
memorial bands. That's the most rewarding thing to me,” Park said.
Park continues to carry the torch and remains focused not on his
personal awards and achievements but of the lives that can be saved
by the Sailors and Marines he teaches.
By U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Timothy Valero
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
The U.S. Marines
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