I joined the Marine Corps because of my father, Walt Chingo. He is a Marine, and I saw the pride he had in being a Marine, and I decided I wanted to share that pride with him. My father was a Grunt in Force Troops Fleet Marine Force from 1968 – 1970, and served in Vietnam 1969 – 1970. I was a Heavy Equipment Operator in the reserves, 6th Engineer Support Battalion from 1999 – 2005, and served two tours in Iraq – the initial push in 2003 and then again 2004 – 2005.
But the greatest thing in this Father-Son Marine Corps story is the fact that we graduated from the same platoon in boot camp. My father graduated from platoon 2066 in 1968 and I graduated from platoon 2066 in 1999. What are the odds in a father and son graduating from the exact same platoon 31 years apart?
A higher power certainly saw fit to fate us to being a part of something special together in a very special way, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Semper Fi,
Travis Chingo