'I'm just going to be a Marine'

Image courtesy: Facebook

Before enlisting in the Marines, Cpl. Gregory Stultz fulfilled a promise he made to his parents when he first tried to join the military at age 17. The star high school wrestler gave college his best shot, before coming home to Indiana to inform his family that he had made his final decision.

"I'm just going to be a Marine," Stultz said.

As the The Brazil Times explains, Cpl. Stultz was also a leader who made people around him better. Managing editor Jason Moon's article describes how the decorated Marine touched others.

The family said Greg was also passionate about children. At one time, he served as a counselor for the YMCA of Clay County Summer Day Camp.

"I always instilled in him, 'you're the example,'" [Greg's father] Bill said. "He was tough as nails, but he loved kids."

[Greg's mother] Kim said her son also had a wonderful sense of humor.

"He was a very funny person," she said. "He loved to be funny. If he couldn't have been a Marine, he should have been a comic."

Stultz was killed on February 19 in Afghanistan's Helmand province, during the anti-Taliban offensive known as Operation Moshtarak. The Tribune-Star reports Stultz was saluted by his hometown of Brazil on Friday, and remembered as a hero who was respected by many, including someone very close to him.

"I couldn’t have asked for a better brother," said Zach Stultz, the younger brother of Gregory Stultz. Fighting back tears, Zach Stultz told the large audience that his brother taught him how to be strong, how to love and to never go into things halfheartedly.

“He really loved God and he loved people."

The 22-year-old Marine was killed on his little brother's birthday. He also leaves behind three more siblings, as well as his loving mother and proud father. As a Facebook group in honor of Gregory Stultz shows, he also had thousands of friends, fellow servicemembers, and admirers. The below video was posted in tribute to the Marine, who "was a very outgoing and loving person who loved his family, friends, and job more then anything."

We salute this remarkable man's drive, courage, and selfless belief in a cause greater than himself.