Manning Baptist Church Veterans’ Ministry has selected First Sgt. Marion Thompson (Retired) as Veteran of the Quarter for January, 2014.
Marion Thompson entered the United States Army on November, 1976 and completed his military career on July 29, 2013, a span of approximately thirty-six years.
He began his career as a recruit at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. Upon completion of Basic Training, he remained at Ft. Dix for his Advanced Individual Training. Although the training was rigorous, he says that it re-enforced the integrity) that his parents had instilled in him as a youth.
Thompson’s first assignment was with the 18th Airborne Corps at Ft. Bragg, N.C. He was later assigned to the 25th Infantry at Schofield Barrack in Hawaii.
Over his thirty-six years of military experience, he received numerous awards, commendations, and decorations.
Thompson’s last assignment was Bravo Company 4th 118 Infantry Company of North Charleston, S.C. It was the assignment that he was deployed to Kuwait on March 2012. While on this assignment, he served as Base Sgt. Major. This particular mission was the command sail at Camp LSA (Life Support Area), a unit charged mainly with the support of soldiers leaving and returning on various area assignments.
During his military career, his goal was to be a man of value rather than a man of success. Aiding him with that goal was remembering that “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity that God provides; whereas, an optimist sees the opportunity in the difficulty provided by God.”
Now that he has retired, he plans to devote more time here at Manning Baptist Church and the Veterans’ Ministry. He plans to use his military experience to advance the will of God at church and in the community. Marion Thompson is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph (Ozelma) Thompson. He and his wife, Tracse, have two sons:  Maurice and Brian. He has a daughter, Anitra Clark-Jones.
The Manning Baptist Church Veterans’ Ministry salutes First Sgt. Marion Thompson (Retired) for his many years of unselfish services to the United States of America.