Paul Lease may have served as a corporal in the Marine Corps more than six decades ago, but he is a Marine to the core. He enlisted in June 1946 and was immediately sent from his Maryland home out to the West Coast. Lease was then involved in infantry and supply operations at Pearl Harbor, Guam, Philippines and China.
Paul Lease may have served as a corporal in the Marine Corps more than six decades ago, but he is a Marine to the core. He enlisted in June 1946 and was immediately sent from his Maryland home out to the West Coast. Lease was then involved in infantry and supply operations at Pearl Harbor, Guam, Philippines and China.
Paul Lease may have served as a corporal in the Marine Corps more than six decades ago, but he is a Marine to the core.
He enlisted in June 1946 and was immediately sent from his Maryland home out to the West Coast. Lease was then involved in infantry and supply operations at Pearl Harbor, Guam, Philippines and China.
Lease was honorably discharged in 1948, but stayed in the inactive reserve. He attended college for just a year when he was called again in 1950 to Norfolk, Virginia, to work in supply for a year.
After the military, Lease pursued a civilian career working at Hercules Powder Company, which manufactured rockets for the military. He spent 26 years at the company working in the research division.
Lease has been a member of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation for about 25 years. His membership was initially a gift from his son, who spent more than 30 years in the Marine Corps and retired as a lieutenant colonel.
“It helps me stay in constant touch with the Marine Corps,” Lease said.
Lease’s grandson was also in the Marine Corps and Lease said he is proud to be part of a family with three generations who served in the Corps.
Lease has been heavily involved with the Marine Corps League since he joined in 2002. He belongs to his local chapter 1071 Mountainside Marines from his home in La Vale, Maryland. He was the first to receive the chapter’s Marine of the Year recognition.
“I’m a true Marine,” Lease said. “I believe in everything they do and they really help so many people.”
As part of his league involvement, Lease attends all the funerals in the area of Marines who have passed. He frames and presents a service certificate to the family of the deceased. He also assists with administration duties at the Veterans Administration clinic each week. Lease and his league chapter take frequent trips to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit the wounded servicemembers and donate needed items.
“I participate in so many local activities because I’m interested in showing my patriotism,” Lease said.
It’s part of his duty as a veteran to help his fellow Marines, both retired and active.
“The Marines and the veterans have to stick together,” Lease said. “We help one another and the kids have got to be supported, the ones that are (overseas), and we’re here to support them.”
The contest honors the essay that is the most original in its approach to the various aspects of leadership. Authors should not simply reiterate the 11 Principles of Leadership or the 14 Leadership Traits of an NCO addressed in the Guidebook for Marines. Authors must be willing to take an honest, realistic look at what leadership, either positive or negative, means to them and then articulate ways and methods of being an effective leader of Marines.
Books chosen for the drawing are selected by Marine Corps Gazette, and each week’s prize book title will be posted on the 
The Marine Corps Association & Foundation invites you to a "meet the author" and book signing event with Medal of Honor recipient, Col Wes Fox, USMC (Ret), the author of "Six Essential Elements of Leadership" and "Marine Rifleman" and "Courage & Fear, A Primer"on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 
MCA&F’s annual auction starts Dec. 5, 2013. The auction proceeds benefit the MCA&F programs that support Marines including the 
Maj. Robb McDonald was presented the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest combat valor award, Dec. 9 for his role repelling the deadly 2012 attack on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. When 15 insurgents infiltrated the camp, mortally wounding McDonald's squadron's commanding officer, he took charge. McDonald risked his life to lead several groups of Marines away from an aluminum maintenance building that could have become a death trap. He later shot and killed one of the attackers, and directed two helicopter strikes that killed several others, his citation says. McDonald also has two Bronze Stars with "V" device, a Purple Heart and eight Air Medals. 
Marines and Sailors of Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SP-MAGTF) Africa 13 reviewed the basics of marksmanship in the first week of their engagement with the Companie de Fusilier Marine Commandos in Senegal. This is the fourth iteration of maritime assistance force engagements this year, covering infantry tactics, small-boat operations and maritime security operations. Each day, the training progressed in technique and skill, and by the end, the Senegalese were able to complete a live-fire exercise. For the remainder of the four-week training engagement, the Marines will focus on infantry tactics while also adding in maritime and riverine tactics training. 
Staff Sgt. Gordon L. Llewellyn and Sgt. David B. Schmidt were awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and certificate of commendation, respectively, Dec. 1 for their response after a car crash left a girl injured in Okinawa, Japan. The Marines were driving when they noticed an overturned vehicle and the teenaged girl who was ejected from the vehicle lying on the ground nearby. Llewellyn and Schmidt ran to the girl, noticing she was conscious but had a high heart rate. They kept her still as to avoid any or additional spinal or pelvic injuries, and controlled the crowd that gathered until emergency personnel arrived. "My hope is that what we did that day made a difference, and that she is doing well and back home with her family," said Llewellyn.
When the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked on their 8-month deployment around the Mediterranean Sea in March, they anticipated executing rescue missions in and around Syria. "When we left, we thought we'd be involved in Syria in terms of humanitarian assistance," said Navy Capt. Jim Cody. "The refugee crisis was spilling into all the neighboring countries." Cody served as commander of the three-ship Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, bearing roughly 4,000 Sailors and Marines along with the 26th MEU that deployed to the region in support of the Navy's 5th and 6th fleets. And though they never made landfall, the 26th MEU was prepared for the situation. 
Marine Corps recruit training is regarded by some as the toughest entry level training in the world, leading New Zealand Army Maj. Logan J. Vaughan, a company commander, to visit the depot in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 19 to learn some of the methods used in making Marines. "We are trying to align our forces with other militaries in the world and are looking to begin an amphibious task force in the near future," said Vaughan. "We wanted to look at some of the best military aspects of militaries around the world. We wanted to see how the Marine Corps solves and handles problems." Over the course of the day, Vaughan was exposed to screening, training, logistics and rehabilitation. 
North Carolina-based Marines are next in line to conduct rotational deployments in Europe and Africa as the service continues to push forward with expeditionary deployments geared toward crisis response and strengthening military partnerships. Three rotations of these Marines will comprise the Corps' Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SP-MAGTF) Crisis Response based in Spain, SP-MAGTF Africa based in Italy and the Black Sea Rotation Force based in Romania. To ensure the Marines keep their skills honed, the three rotational forces recently teamed with the regional Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, based at Naval Station Rota, Spain, for a three-day training event. The training aimed to unify the four units under a single command to plan, coordinate and execute a crisis response exercise. 
Over 2,500 people, including 50 survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor gathered on the 72nd anniversary of the Japanese air raid to honor those who served and were killed. Delton Walling, who was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania at the time of the attack, said they're "in the twilight years." The crowd observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began 72 years ago, overlooking the memorial to the USS Arizona battleship that sank in the attack. Roughly 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed at Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the island of Oahu in the attack. 
Marines celebrated the completion of exercise Southern Katipo 2013 with veterans of the New Zealand Defence Force at the tombstone of Capt. Charles Upham, two-time Victoria Cross recipient, and one of the most decorated New Zealand service members. "It was special to be around so many veterans and share our camaraderie with them and their spouses," said Maj. William Allen. "It's really unique to be able to get in touch with the past and have a chance to see the burial site of one of their most decorated veterans. That was a special way for the exercise to come to an end." The exercise is a biennial, multinational exercise that strengthens interoperability between allied nations and perfects operational performance in preparation for future events.
