Home for the Holidays: DMV Marines stationed at Quantico ready to reunite with families

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - With Thanksgiving a week away, families across the country are preparing to gather for the holidays.

But our nation’s service members are often away from their loved ones. This year, a handful of Marines will make it home just in time.

It’s home for the holidays for three young Marines stationed here at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

All of them haven’t been home in more than a year.

"I miss home. I miss everybody back home," said Lance Corporal Grant Bruley.

It’s a feeling many service members know all too well.

"It’s the hardest time of the year for a lot of guys," said Lance Corporal Avery Smith.

"It’s been since about last August since I’ve been home," added Lance Corporal Christian Taylor.

"First time in little over a year," Bruley said on how long it’s been since he’s been home.

Often called the Protectors of the Crossroads, all three Marines serve in the security battalion at Quantico, guarding the gates that grant access to the base.

Taylor from Grayland, Washington will be the first to head home for the holidays this Thanksgiving.

"Can’t wait to get home, eat some turkey, have some ham, have a good time with the family, maybe do some karaoke," he said.

And Smith, originally from Mcleansboro, Illinois will be home just in time for Christmas.

"I’m really looking forward to spending a Christmas back home. [I'm] really big on holidays with the family, so it will be nice after a couple of years missing it," he said.

Bruley’s family will have quite a surprise when they find out he’s made his way back home to Michigan.

"They’re going to be very happy that I’m home for the holidays because they don’t know that I’m able to come," he said.

Because it’s been so long since they’ve been home, these Marines say these moments mean a little more.

"Seeing my nephew … He’s practically a little me," said Lance Corporal Taylor. "All the time, I’ll be hearing how he wants to be a Marine or how he’s always rooting for me."

"Seeing everybody is amazing but being able to share a meal with everybody, that’s something I’m not going to do forever, so I’m going to savor those chances while I get them," he added. "It’s a good chance this might be the last one I get in this enlistment. I’m really just going to try to live in the moment with it, so I have those memories for the next couple of years."

FOX 5 will have more "Home for the Holidays" coverage in the weeks ahead.