Porter & Lennox, Courageous Kids Contest U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Winners
April 22, 2024
Porter (7) and Lennox (5) were selected as OMK's Courageous Kids Contest winners in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve category! Porter and Lennox are the children of a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist who deployed overseas in 2023.
"Out of all three of my kids, Lennox had the hardest time with me being gone for the mobilization period and the deployment," said Porter and Lennox's father, a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist who nominated them for the contest.
"We went to counseling and together we learned that there was an 'invisible string' that connected him to his loved ones that he could pull and they would feel. It helped him feel connected to me when I was gone and he would often sadly tell my wife that he was pulling really hard on the string.
Over time, he grew to understand that I didn't want to be gone and that I would eventually return. He didn't quite grasp how long I would be gone for which frustrated him at time. He did his best to stay positive throughout the deployment.
Once he learned about the 'invisible string' and that I would eventually come back, he would often tell his crying younger that it was ok and that I was coming back. Although his younger brother was upset for a different reason, Lennox often was trying to provide comfort to his siblings by telling them that I wouldn't be gone forever."
"Porter is my oldest child and wants to be like me, his dad, when he grows up. He played sports while I was gone and did well even though I wasn't able to be there as much. He also learned how to play chess just so he could play me while I was away and when I got back home.
He stayed so strong during my deployment. When his little brothers were feeling sad about me being gone, Porter reminded them that I was coming back and that I loved them.
He did his best to help out around the house with things that I used to take care of like trying to help clean or support my wife by providing clothes and such for the youngest brother."
Q&A with Porter & Lennox
What are your favorite after-school activities? What do you love about them?
P: I like soccer because it’s my favorite to play.
L: I like eating food and watching shows and playing legos. They have my favorite stuff in them.
To you, what does it mean to be a military kid?
P: I feel like I’m being a good partner by supporting daddy. And I’m thinking about the future.
L: I like pretending to be daddy. We try to help people. I always have daddy in my heart.
Do you have any advice to other kids with a deployed parent?
P: It helped me to have good friends and to listen to stories daddy recorded while he was gone.
L: I would tell them to have a daddy doll (small "stuffed" version of me, similar to a stuffed animal) and I would tell them about the “Invisible String” (from the book by Patrice Karst).
What do you want to be when you get older?
P: I don’t know yet. I definitely want to be a dad. And I might want to study dinosaurs.
L: I want to be a firefighter and make daddy dolls.
