Dress Blues

A marine arriving at someone’s home in dress blues means one thing. A loved one, wounded, or even worst, killed in the line of duty. The sight of a marine in dress blues tells a story before they can even knock on the door.

Les Strickland’s final duty station was at the United States Army Reserve Center in Abilene. As the senior enlisted, he would carry a pager, with the trepidation of getting a message that a marine of the Abilene area was seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.

“It was apart of my job,” Les Strickland said. I did three death notifications, a couple of suicide attempts, or seriously injured notifications. When I would arrive in someone’s front yard in my dress blues, they would instantly know why I was there. I would always try and put myself in the parent’s position. Just trying to tell them in a way that helped ease their pain, but it would never help.”

As the senior enlisted, Strickland would assist families during the entire process as a casualty assistance officer. Getting the bodies home, the funeral process at the mortuary, and being a shoulder for families to lean on.

The duty of providing this information to American families falls on the shoulders of a strong individual and to deliver this news takes dedication and courage.

While this is the tail end of Strickland’s commitment to service, he served 26 years as a member of the United States Military. His time includes visiting some of the most historic landmarks in world history.

Walking on the unusual and glassy sands of Hiroshima, Operation Desert Storm, where the United States staged maneuvers to warn Iraq against taking military action against the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Strickland also walked on Mount Suribachi, where a United States flag was raised, on the mountain of Iwo Jima.

“I was enlisted as a marine atop Mount Suribachi,” Strickland said. “We spent the night on Mount Suribachi, and I had the opportunity to go through the caves there. When I joined, Vietnam was going on, and then, I was over in the original Desert Storm in 1991.”

With these events and determination, Strickland always planned to be a marine, appearing to have been his destiny.

“I always wanted to be a marine,” Strickland said. “It was just something about it. My career choices as a young child growing up in California were either law enforcement or as a marine. My school had the military come and talk to us one day, I listened and heard ‘this isn’t for everybody, and if you can’t handle it, then don’t do it’ and was hooked. Being a marine made me more confident. It gave me a different perspective on life, so I’ve seen death, and it taught me how to deal with it.”

After coming back to the United States, the Marine Corps was attempting to station Strickland in El Paso, and as his belongings were packed, he received a call. He was asked to trade with an individual and was sent to a reserve center in Abilene.

This is when he first began to come to Breckenridge and met the love of his life. To be unmistaken, Les Strickland loves his country, but it is his love of his wife, Sherry, that exudes with passion.

“From the first moment we meet, it was something about that woman,” Strickland said. “We would talk on the phone, and one night, I realized this would be special. I’m very much in love with my wife, she’s such a good woman.”

The two have been together for 25 years and share a special unbreakable bond. The two have three children, seven grandchildren, and are enthusiastic members of the community.

Now retired, Strickland runs Strickland’s Inspection and provides assistance to the citizens of Breckenridge, Stephens County, and surrounding areas. The company provides premier home inspection, offering real estate inspections in the counties of Stephens, Shackelford, Taylor, Throckmorton, Young, Jack, Palo Pinto, and Callahan.

Although retired, Strickland also provided advice for any youth who may be thinking about going into the military or wanting to be a marine.

“I would tell younger people to think about as it is a commitment for some time,” Strickland said. “I don’t care if a person serves three or thirty years, it will change you. Anytime in the military will change you. It will make you a better, stronger person. Individuals will realize they are more of a team.”

With his dedicated service to the community and country, Strickland can look back with an invigorated thought of his life and character.

“I’ve always told Sherry, I want on my tombstone, he loved God, his wife, and his country,” Strickland said. “ I think those three things are important, and that sums me up pretty well.”

It is this commitment to service that will forever have Les Strickland embedded in the Breckenridge community and is the embodiment of a Marine.