When you think about some of the most romantic places you’ve been, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., probably doesn’t top that list.
But Cpl. Jonathan Camp said his boot camp graduation day was one of the happiest of his life. So when his girlfriend, Pfc. Kathleen Finn, had her own graduation day there, Camp thought it’d be the perfect place to ask her to marry him.
Camp, 21, is an infantryman currently working on recruiting assistance duty in Erie, Pa. He drove nearly 15 hours down to Parris Island to see Finn, 22, graduate. He brought poolees – prospective Marine recruits – with him to give them a sense of what they’ll see when they get to boot camp.
Adam McCoy, a high school senior, was one of the poolees who traveled down to the depot with Camp. During the long road trip, Camp was listening to Matt Nathanson’s “Come On Get Higher” and he told McCoy the song reminded him of his girlfriend.
So McCoy filmed the the big moment during Family Day on Jan. 3 and posted the video to YouTube with Nathanson’s song playing as the soundtrack. It shows Camp in a sea of family members looking for his girlfriend, but she finds him first. Camp said he then pulled her away from everyone and brought her outside near the sand pit so he could ask her to be his wife.
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“A lot of girls were getting yelled at by the drill instructors for [public displays of affection],” he said. “I knew if I got down on one knee and made a big deal of it that she’d get yelled at, which was why I didn’t wear my uniform. I didn’t want to attract attention and get her in trouble.”
But some of the other soon-to-be Marines saw what was going on and got excited, he said, so her DI yelled anyways.
Camp met Finn in college. He said he was planning to go to Officer Candidates School, but joined as an enlisted Marine instead. Finn was studying criminal justice with plans to become a police officer.
“She said she saw changes in me after I became a Marine, so she decided to join, too,” Camp said.
She was an inch too short to be a military policewoman, he said, but she was determined to join anyways.
“She’s very motivated,” he said. “She was already invested in becoming a Marine. I told her maybe the Army or Air Force had lower height requirements, but she wanted to be a Marine.”
Just eight days after proposing, Camp and Finn are getting married today. He said he’s going to put in a request to transfer to be with his new wife.
Congratulations, Marines!
10 Comments
Does anyone else see the conflict of an NCO asking a junior Marine to marry him? This is exactly what is wrong with our Corps today. If they wanted to get married you should have done it before you joined, or wait until she’s an NCO.
“Does anyone else see the conflict of an NCO asking a junior Marine to marry him?”
Yes.
At her boot camp graduation? Yes.
In front of a bunch of poolees? Yes.
Using the GOVVIE to drive said poolees 15 hours just to “give them a sense of what they’ll see when they get to boot camp”, when I’m hard-pressed to think of a more unrepresentative sample of “what they’ll see when they get to boot camp” than graduation day and an NCO proposing to a junior Marine next to the sand pit? Yes.
Thinking that the best way to not “attract attention” would be to simply wear civvies, instead of saving the proposal for, I dunno, a nice restaurant or reception afterward? Yes.
Following up the desire to not “attract attention” by putting the whole spectacle that you had your poolee videotape on YouTube? Yes.
With “Come On Get Higher” as the background music? Yes.
If I were this Marine’s RS XO, he’d have a lot of splaining to do when he got back from his honeymoon.
Anti, where in the above article does it say that the marine drove a gov? Also where does it say that the marine asked the poolee to film the event? I think that there is alot of speculation that has no merit in alot of the things you said in your comment. “Camp met Finn in college. He said he was planning to go to Officer Candidates School, but joined as an enlisted Marine instead. Finn was studying criminal justice with plans to become a police officer.” I think that the fact that they met, and started dating in college blows all the so called “conflict” of an NCO marrying junior marine out of the water.
JC, your right I am the poole who filmed it haha. he never told me to, i chose to, when you see him talking hes asking me what im doing.
This is absolutely 100% ridiculous
This was all a ploy to attract attention to himself and take attention off of PFC Finn. What an absolute jackass. He should be ashamed of himself. Camp is not an example of what any Marine should be. He also did not get down on one knee, and his reason for not doing so was even worse.
Conduct unbecoming, MCRC needs a report on this ASAP. Sad way to bug out of the BEQ, dude.
1St Grunt,
Show me the MCO that says two marines cannot get married. The fact that they dont have the same pay grades shouldnt be an issue. One of the marines is a reservist and the other is active duty. They will never fall under the same command. There is alot of ignorance being displayed on this topic……educate yourself marine
Is it all about the money JC?
You are trash.
Jonathan has been a fried of mine for well over 5 years and before Kathleen went to boot camp he was already planning to marry her. The fact that she had become a marine had nothing to do with why they were getting married. I, for one, am very happy to hear that they have gotten married and I’m sure all the negative comments are from the jealous ladies and gentlemen who haven’t experienced the type of love we all can see between Jonathan and Kathleen. Good luck camp! And good luck to your new wife also! 🙂