Cobra Gold 19: Thai native returns to homeland as a US Marine [Image 1 of 2]

U-TAPAO, THAILAND

02.06.2019

Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Bragg 

III MEF Information Group     

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Pornpipat Marylander, a supply administration Marine, Marine Air Control Group 18, is a Thai native now serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and is supporting exercise Cobra Gold 19 at Phra Maha Jetsadaratchao Camp, U-Tapao, Kingdom of Thailand, February 2019. “When I stepped off the KC-130 I just felt weird. It’s like, I haven’t been home in 15 years. So, when the door opened and I stepped out, I just thought for a moment and reflected that this is it, I’m back in my homeland. I was born in 1998 here in Uthai Thani province, which is in northwestern Thailand, and I lived here until I was six before my parents took me away. Life here in Thailand is definitely not like it was in the United States. My parents owned a farm, and every day they would go to the farm and would let me run around and jump in the lake. I know my grandparents, who I was living with at that time, would make food like the street vendors here. They would go to the farm and get all of the products they make and sell it for money. My grandparents had the money to send me to school, which they did. On the weekdays I would go to school, but they couldn’t drive me because they didn’t have a car. They had a family friend with a truck, and I would ride with them to school. Thai schools are a little different than American, because every morning we would stand outside in a line and we would sing our school song. We would face the flag and sing it, and every school had its own song. I was starting to get older, and my mother wanted a better opportunity for me. So, she saved up all of her money as a street vendor and a barber, and when I reached the age of six she sent me to America with her. She wanted a better opportunity for me because she saw how dangerous some parts of Thailand were. We settled down at Korea Town in Los Angeles, California and when she met my stepfather, we moved to Santa Monica, California. It was an interesting transition coming to America, because in Thailand I was just another Thai kid in school. So, when I got to the States, the school kids would swarm me and ask me all sorts of questions or watch and see what I do in my normal routine. It was interesting. The first four years in America was me trying to learn English as fast as I can, but the downside of that was I also started to forget my Thai language. When I arrived, I was already fluent in Thai and I was just speaking to my mother in Thai. I was also speaking to my friends in Thai, but they didn’t understand me. Haha. Ultimately, I forgot how to speak it, but I can still understand it fluently. After I graduated high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So, I wanted to try at least four years in the military. I went to the recruiting station to check out all of the branches. My father always said the Marine Corps is, 'The Few and The Proud,' and I think that curiosity is what drew me in. This is my first time back in Thailand since I left. For me, being here means there’s a certain way I have to act for both the U.S. side and the Thai side. It just feels like I’m back home, but my home is also with me. The U.S. Marines are my brothers and sister, but also the Royal Thais are here with me too. So, it feels like I have two homes in one place, and I love it." (U.S. Marine Corps illustration by Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Bragg. This photo was is composite using multiple photos, which were stitched together to create a shallow depth of field. This technique is most commonly known as the Brenizer method.)

• Date Taken: 02.06.2019
• Date Posted: 02.07.2019 21:27
• Photo ID: 5085476
• VIRIN: 190206-M-DP650-0600
• Resolution: 4363x3054
• Size: 9.97 MB
• Location: U-TAPAO, TH
• Hometown: SANTA MONICA, CA, US