- April 28, 2024
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As fireworks paint American skies this Independence Day, Capt. Jeremy Thomas will be home in Palm Coast celebrating with his family.
On June 8, the 28-year-old U.S. Marine arrived in the United States. Upon hopping off a bus at Camp Pendleton, Calif., he received warm greetings from family and friends.
“It felt great to come home,” he said. “I felt very welcome.”
He remained in good communication with family while overseas. He used Facebook and Skype to stay in touch with his loved ones.
“We have to be really creative with how we link up with each other,” he said.
Strong family influences impacted Thomas’ decision to join the military.
The veteran said that his desire to serve started early. Both of his siblings have served, and he said after seeing the film “A Few Good Men,” he chose the U.S. Marine Corps. He said the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, confirmed his call to service.
“I just wanted to be a Marine,” he said. “I felt a responsibility and a duty to do it. I just knew.”
Though his vocation has taken him around the globe, Thomas’ beginnings are rooted in Flagler County. He was raised in Palm Coast, and he graduated from Flagler Palm Coast High School in 2003. He then went on to study English at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Thomas was the first in his family to graduate college.
His studies gave him useful lessons, strong relationships and fulfillment. He explained that his best experience was his graduation, when he saluted his older brother for the first time.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 2007, and left to carry out his first posting at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in San Bernandino County, Calif. His initial assignment was at an infantry unit, and he said it was rigorous. He was working 16- to 20-hour days, but it was rewarding.
“It was intense,” he said. “The expectations were extremely high. It was a great challenge.”
He then relocated to Iraq in 2009 to work as a primary logistics officer. After spending some time in the Middle East, he did a southeastern Asia tour to work in countries such as Singapore, the Philippines and Japan as part of a security force.
He later returned home for a while before leaving in the spring of 2011 for Afghanistan, where he ran a logistics support. In December 2012, he consulted an Afghan lieutenant colonel and worked as an instructor and operational analyst.
He said he was impressed with the soldiers he trained.
“The talent in these young men and women is incredible,” he said.
However, sorrow and pain were not absent from his time in the forces. A wrestling coach from college, who was his mentor, was killed while serving in Iraq. He goes to Arlington National Cemetery to visit his deceased “big brother.”
“It’s extremely difficult to wrap your head around,” he said. “I wanted to be that guy. It was really hard to deal with that.”
But through good times and bad, the young Marine has worked through the toughest circumstances and has grown strong. He said that the people he worked with made the experience rich. His fellow soldiers were his favorite part of serving in the military.
“They’re incredible people,” he said. “They step up and want to be servants of the nation.”
As Thomas enjoys time home, he will be screened for various programs in the fall to determine his next assignment. He said he wants to continue serving.
