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Hats off to United States Marine Lonnie Foster from Silsbee

One year ago, Foster was playing football for the Silsbee Tigers. Now he's a U.S. Marine.

I'm going to lead off by saying I know there are dozens of Southeast Texans and maybe more than that who graduate from high school and dive right into the armed forces.

But the story of former Silsbee Tiger Lonnie Foster really touched me back in May; It tied sports into life.

  • His football coach honored his commitment to the Marines alongside his other teammates who signed their letters of intent to play college football.
  • His grandmother who raised him passed away during his senior year of high school.
  • His attitude, well it's so positive that I decided to write this story.

During his ceremony, Foster told me he had an opportunity to change his past, and he knew joining the military would give him the perfect path to make his remaining family proud.

I asked him in a Twitter message, after he reached out to me with joy and excitement that he finally became a marine and put on his uniform, how it feels to reach his goal. He responded by telling me:

"It feels amazing, I love being a part of the proudest branch. This was my calling."

Feel free to watch my original report from four months ago, you'll get my perspective. Thank you Lonnie Foster for serving our country. You're making 12 News, Silsbee, Texas, and the entire 409 proud!

- Lance Edwards, Sports Director, 12 News

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