Cpl. Nathaniel Hill was surprised to hear a staff sergeant at Camp Lejeune call his name. It was April 2022, and the rifleman from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, was at a squad competition during his drill weekend. No one at the base should have known who he was.
“There’s no easy way to tell you this,” said the staff sergeant, “but your house burned down.”
Hill’s first concern was for his wife and daughter, who were both safe. Unfortunately, though, the family was left homeless because the house was a total loss.
What seemed at first like a shocking tragedy, however, became a turning point in Hill’s life. After the outpouring of support he received from his fellow Marines, he decided to re-enlist and devote himself to another contract with the Marine Corps Reserve.
READ MORE: MARFORRES commander on ‘incredible opportunities’ for current reserve force
The leadership for the squad comp reached out to the Red Cross and procured him a plane ticket home. By the time he landed, he had been inundated with messages from fellow Marines asking how they could help.
“There were Marines that were in my unit previous to me that had been out a couple years, reaching out to me, like, ‘Hey, I’m such and such, I was in Charlie back in 2016, 2017, we’re just wondering if you need anything,’” remembered Hill, a native of Olean, New York. “Asking what size my daughter wore for clothing, what my wife wore, if we needed baby toys, if we needed furniture.”
Master Sgt. Chad DiBiase, representing the Marine Corps Coordinating Council, coordinated with Hill to procure his family a new place to live.
“Within the week I was back,” Hill said, “I had a fully furnished apartment. My daughter had brand new clothes, diapers, wipes, and food. My platoon sergeant got a GoFundMe started to help for the first month’s rent. They really took care of me like I was their own.”
Hill said he made the decision to re-enlist “pretty much right then and there.”
“I wanted to make a difference and be a good support pillar for new Marines coming in, give back to the Marine Corps because they’ve given so much to me.”
Hill’s future plans aren’t set in stone, but he’s always wanted to be a gunnery sergeant.
“Every gunny I’ve met is the stereotypical Marine, big chisel jaw, giant muscles, but they’re kind and they’re there to take care of you,” said Hill.
But regardless of where his career path ultimately leads, he knows for certain that his fellow members of the Marine Reserve have become his brothers.
“Every Marine I meet, I trust wholeheartedly,” he said, then smiled. “I think I’m going to stay in. I mean, Marines definitely do keep me out of trouble.”
