JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Few, The Proud, The Marines.
There is an image of perseverance with which most Marines view themselves, and that image rarely involves asking for help. In this week's Stories of Service, First Coast News introduces a Marine who went through a devastating experience and it was his willingness to ask for help that proved to be his greatest strength.
"It's an honor to know the legacy that I hold and being part of that legacy," said Master Sergeant Nathan Gutierrez. "It means the world to me and I wear that uniform with pride."
Gutierrez has been part of the Marine Corps for 22 years, but the Corps was in his soul before he joined. His grandfather was a World War II veteran.
Gutierrez and his family have a home in Quantico, Va., but in April 2022 that home went up in flames.
"Everything that I and my wife worked hard for in 20 years, to see it gone, knowing that I tried everything I could to put it out and knowing that I failed to do that, it was really bad," said Gutierrez.
In his darkest hour, Gutierrez turned to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
"It was immediate assistance, no questions asked," Gutierrez told First Coast News.
The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has a variety of programs from finance to basic needs designed to help sailors and Marines.
"It's tremendous, as Marines we have this sense of pride, we don't like to ask for help, we want to take care of everything ourselves and I'm one of those," said Gutierrez. "Knowing how easy it was, now I speak about it all the time to people. Just having that relief is so big for my family."
A family featuring six kids, four of whom followed in their dad's footsteps and joined the Marines, saw him strong enough to ask for help.
"Don't be afraid to ask, there's a lot of stress going on right now with our economy, prices are high and it puts a lot of stress on families and servicemembers," said Gutierrez.
The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has locations at all three Navy bases on the First Coast: Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax) and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. More information about what the NMCRS offers can be found here.
If you have a Story of Service that you would like First Coast News to profile, send an email to storiesofservice@firstcoastnews.com.