Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Devin Nichols | Marines and sailors with 2nd Marine Logistics Group stand at attention during the...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - At a time when brightly colored scrunchies, wearing light up sneakers, and "Saved By the Bells’" Zach Morris were considered cool, two young Americans enlisted in United States Marine Corps.
Rapper R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” had just burst onto the music scene when the two Marines met, eventually married and became Gunnery Sgt. Ryan and Staff Sgt. Robin Clements.
A short 20 years later, long after the last person ever used a Discman or a pager, the Clementses retired from the Marine Corps together, in a joint ceremony here, June 14.
Each half of the couple served two decades honorably, retiring with decorated military backgrounds and a proven commitment to their country, and to each other.
“It’s an accomplishment and a relief that we both made it,” said Robin, a Maypearl, Texas, native. “We finished together and walked the road hand-in-hand. We couldn’t do it without one another. We are a team and we couldn’t do it without our kids, they make the team.”
“It was insane playing ‘Mr. Mom’ while she was gone on a deployment,” said Ryan, a Richland Center, Wis., native. “The kids help you get through it. Everybody thinks that Marines have the easiest job overseas, but the toughest job is being home running the house.”
In one 60-month span during their careers in the Marine Corps, Ryan and Robin only saw each other 14 months.
“We had our ups and our downs,” said Robin. “There were times I wanted to hang it up when it almost became too much with the back and forth deployments. [Ryan] would tell me we can do this and he had my back.”
Ryan and Robin both served as Motor Transportation Chief’s with various units, including 2nd Marine Logistics Group, where they both resided until the final day of their enlistments.
“Together we make one great team,” said Robin jokingly. “With both of us being Motor-T chiefs, we are like the dynamic duo. There is nothing we can’t handle.”
For the couple, all of the memories shared together and the friends made throughout their careers came down to this very moment.
Marines and sailors on a bright sunny day put on their nicely pressed service uniforms to pay their respects to the Clementses.
“It’s been my pleasure to know [the Clementses] for the past 20 years,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lawrence Jeffrey, the ceremony’s presiding officer and longtime friend of the Clementses. “It’s a sad moment in my life. They are people I can call up at anytime if I had a question, needed help or a friend. They are the people you can rely on.”
Ryan and Robin received an honorable retirement ceremony, well earned after a long, dedicated time in service.
“Twenty years feels like it started yesterday,” said Robin. “The Marine Corps has always been great to me. I don’t regret anything. The greatest days of my life are when my children were born, when I met the man of my dreams and this day right here. With my husband’s unwavering support, we stand here today.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2013 16:01 |
| Story ID: | 108691 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | MAYPEARL, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 461 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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