Thomas G. Taylor, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War, inspired his grandson, Benjamin E. Bowdoin, to enlist into the Marines in Oxford, Alabama, Oct. 2, 2020.

Taylor began his Marine Corps career as an infantryman in 1965. The next year he was accepted into Force Reconnaissance and deployed to Vietnam. In 1975, after the war, he became one of the first service members to enter what was then the newly-created occupational field of military police. Taylor retired as a master sergeant in 1968.

Bowdoin, now a senior at Pleasant Valley High School, enlisted through Recruiting Substation Anniston, Recruiting Station Montgomery. He is currently in the Delayed Entry Program, preparing to begin recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, where he will train for 13 weeks to earn the title of U.S. Marine. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Jorge A. Rosales and Cpl. Terry Haynes)