PFC Belusar earns honors in Marine Corps basic training

by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor

U.S. Marine PFC Sara Belusar had a greeting last week like few others. Her entire family?all nine brothers and sisters, plus her parents, came to watch her graduate from basic training at Paris Island, South Carolina June 1. Sisters Christine, Cynthia, Alicia, Michelle, and Catherine, along with brothers John, Adam, Josh, and Benjamin, loaded up the 15?passenger van and took off with parents David and Carol, for the 1,200-mile drive to the graduation ceremony. In addition to her immediate family, 13 other extended family members witnessed the graduation. When they got there they found Sara, second oldest daughter of David and Carol, had received the award as ?honor graduate? in her company of about 88 female Marines.

THE AWARD is given to the Marine who demonstrates a high degree of discipline, proficiency, bearing and physical fitness. There were 42 in her platoon and 46 in the second platoon in her company. Basic training started with 61 recruits in her platoon. PFC Belusar scored a 290 out of a possible 300 in the physical fitness testing which included crunches, flexed arm hang, and a three-mile run. She also received the ?Molly Marine Award? voted on by her peers, as the ?most well modeled Marine? in her platoon. Mom Carol said several Marines in Sara?s platoon introduced themselves to her, telling her how Sara had been inspirational to them in the 90-day basic training. Sara also served as a religious lay leader and devotional leader in her platoon.

?It was very exciting and we are very proud of Sara,? Carol said. ?God has truly blessed her in her accomplishments. He has given her the strength and courage.? At home for a 10-day leave before heading for a 21-day combat training session, PFC Belusar spent some time with her family at their Klee Road home. She shared a few stories about basic training with her family. ?It wasn?t what I thought it would be. It took a little while to get used to,? she said.

SARA?S PLANS are to become part of the Marine Corps band. After combat training, she will go to Norfolk, Virginia for a six-month session at the Navy School of Music. Located aboard the Naval Amphibious Base in Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy School of Music provides special

ized training for selected personnel of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, and is the first stop after basic training for instrumentalists and vocalists seeking to join the ranks of America’s military bands. This unique facility, the largest of its kind in the world, provides basic to advanced levels of instruction geared toward preparing soldiers, sailors, and Marines for the challenges of performance within a wide variety of military ensembles. Graduates of the Navy School of Music go on to become musical ambassadors throughout the United States and abroad as members of U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps Bands.

Sara is a 2006 graduate of Rogers City High School where she was a standout in cross-country, band and track.

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