Houston Marine reflects on 9/11, his reason for serving [Image 2 of 2]

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

07.29.2011

Photo by Cpl. Katherine Keleher 

Regional Command Southwest

1st Lt. John McJunkin (left), the Regional Command Southwest operation and maintenance Marine Corps budget officer, and a native of Houston, stands with Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, the commanding general of Regional Command Southwest, after McJunkin’s promotion ceremony on Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province. McJunkin was a student at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, on 9/11. “That was when I said ‘okay, I’m going to pick up arms,” McJunkin said. “I’m going to protect our freedom of religion that is provided in America. I’m not going to allow extremism through Islamic jihad to grow and affect our way of life. It’s just not going to happen on my watch.’”

• Date Taken: 07.29.2011
• Date Posted: 09.03.2011 15:05
• Photo ID: 451237
• VIRIN: 110729-M-7185K-962
• Resolution: 3744x5616
• Size: 2.27 MB
• Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF