Stories

Tag: Charlotte

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Fidel Chidandali, a canvassing recruiter at Recruiting Substation Gastonia, Recruiting Station Charlotte, congratulates younger brother, Pfc. Ushindi Phanuel, for graduating from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina on Oct. 29, 2021. Chidandali and Phanuel are the first two people in their family to become United States Marines. As a teenager, Chidandali decided he wanted to become a United States Marine after his first encounter with a Marine Corps Security Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. (Courtesy photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dana Beesley) - U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Fidel Chidandali, a canvassing recruiter at Recruiting Substation Gastonia, Recruiting Station Charlotte, congratulates younger brother, Pfc. Ushindi Phanuel, for graduating from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina on Oct. 29, 2021. Chidandali and Phanuel are the first two people in their family to become United States Marines. As a teenager, Chidandali decided he wanted to become a United States Marine after his first encounter with a Marine Corps Security Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. (Courtesy photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dana Beesley)

Refugee to Marine Corps Recruiter

GASTONIA, N.C. - U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Fidel Chidandali, a canvassing recruiter at Recruiting Substation Gastonia, Recruiting Station Charlotte, sits at his desk with his younger brother, Ushindi Phanuel, on June 21, 2021. Phanuel patiently waits as his older brother finishes up the final paperwork for his enlistment into the Marine Corps. After the last few signatures, Chidandali sets his little brother on a path that he paved many years before. Chidandali was the first person in his family to become a Marine, and his younger brother is on his way to be the second. But many years ago the opportunity to become Marines was something they would never have dreamed of. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a time of civil unrest, their family was forced to flee the Congo and start new lives in Kenya as refugees.

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Capt. Gravelle attends his son's graduation - Improvise, adapt and overcome--a saying that many Marines live by. Serving in the Marine Corps is a difficult but rewarding journey, one that is experienced by both the Marines and their family members. Capt. Darryl Gravelle, recruiting station Charlotte’s operations officer, and his family have grown accustomed to the military lifestyle, for he and his family have a long history of military service. Service that sees no end in the near future.

A Continuing Family Tradition

Improvise, adapt and overcome--a saying that many Marines live by. Serving in the Marine Corps is a difficult but rewarding journey, one that is experienced by both the Marines and their family members. Capt. Darryl Gravelle, recruiting station Charlotte’s operations officer, and his family have grown accustomed to the military lifestyle, for he and his family have a long history of military service. Service that sees no end in the near future.

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