Published: June 02, 2008 12:40 pm      

Local Marine takes part in memorial ceremony

By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



“The few, the proud, the Marines,” is a popular slogan that many would associate with the U.S. Marine Corps.

It’s part of that slogan that led 21-year-old Fultondale native Chaney Hubbert to enlist in the Marines three years ago.

“It was a real big pride thing,” Hubbert said. “They’re supposed to be the best.”

Hubbert, a Fultondale High School graduate and daughter of Fultondale City Councilman Darrell Hubbert, is stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. She will be deployed this summer to a to-be-determined location.

On Monday, Hubbert took part in a Memorial Day ceremony at the American Legion in Fultondale that paid tribute to both fallen heroes and those currently serving in the armed forces. She said she was proud and honored to have been a part of the ceremony.

“It was an honor to be recognized,” she said. “Being on a base, Marines are a dime a dozen, so you don’t feel appreciated until you come home.”

She doesn’t get to come home from the base too often, and she said her time in Fultondale was the first leave she had taken in nearly a year. When she is at home, she said she enjoys spending time with her family, which also includes her mom, Tammy Hubbert, and sisters Shea Anderson and Katie Hubbert.

Hubbert has not been to Iraq or Afghanistan, but said she is up to the task should she be asked to go. Her previous missions have included providing medical and humanitarian assistance, working with the countries of Jordan and Qatar.

Other countries she’s visited include France, Italy, Dubai, Bahrain, Spain and Turkey. Of those, she said Turkey was the most memorable. “It’s definitely a tourist spot,” she said.

Darrell Hubbert said he is very proud of his daughter’s decision to join the Marines, but admitted he was a little apprehensive at first.

“I thought she had been swayed or wooed by some good-looking Marine at the high school,” he said. “I actually invited him to my house and didn’t like what he had to say, so I invited his boss to the house.”

He said his concerns focused on how the males and females were separated at boot camp and that they were open and honest with where she would be stationed and traveling to.

“That was the father in me coming out,” he said.

After meeting with the second staff sergeant, his concerns were eased and he gave his blessings for his daughter to enlist.

Darrell Hubbert said he doesn’t worry too much about his daughter’s safety during a time of war. He said there is a fine line between worry and knowing what his daughter is prepared to do and what she has to do.

“She’s an expert with an M-16, so that does give me some comfort in knowing that she can handle herself over there,” he said.

He praised his daughter’s courage and also praised the Fultondale American Legion for making her feel welcome and appreciated during her visits home.

Chaney Hubbert said she hasn’t decided if she wants to make the Marines a full-time career and said she can’t imagine doing anything else.

She encourages any high school junior or senior to consider the Marines, but said they should go into it whole-heartedly.

“They need to be sure, because there is no getting out,” she said. “You need to have your mind made up before you go.”