On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom Morton always felt called to serve, but the path there was anything but straight. After trying college twice and walking away both times, he made a decision that put him on a bus to Parris Island and onto the yellow footprints of Marine Corps boot camp.

Our American Stories listener Tom Morton takes us inside the physical and mental grind of Marine training, from relentless discipline and sleep deprivation to the final crucible that strips recruits down and rebuilds them as something new. What begins as a search for purpose becomes a hard-earned transformation, culminating in the moment he received the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and learned it wasn't just a piece of metal, but a way of life.

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