DENIS P. RYAN, JR.
Branch of the Military: United States Marine Corps.
Last/Current Rank: Corporal
Term of Service: 2005 - Present
Veteran's Neighborhood: Camp Pendleton, CA
Submitted by: his sister, Mary Ryan (Eisenhower Staff)
Reflections on Veteran’s Military Service:
My brother told us a funny story from his time in boot camp: once one of their drill instructors was keeping the recruits outside of the chow hall. He was yelling at them to clean up their line when a seagull flew overhead, and made a deposit right onto the Eagle, Globe and Anchor insignia on his cover (that's a Marine word for hat). Because the cover was hard and had a large brim around it, the Instructor didn't realize what had happened. The recruits were all desperately trying not to laugh - that would have meant punishment - when from the back of the line they heard someone roaring with laughter. It was the senior drill instructor, leaning against a tree because he was laughing so hard. Since he laughed first, the recruits were also free to laugh. The instructor had no idea what was going on until something dripped off the end of his bill. He took off his cover, stared at it in disbelief, and ordered the recruits in to eat.
