Randy Marbry had just been turned down by the Air Force.
He was walking out of the recruiter’s office, not quite sure what came next, when a Marine stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t feel bad,” he remembers the recruiter saying. “We’ll take you.”
Marbry, who was 19 and had spent a year after high school struggling to find steady work, laughed recalling the moment at the Tipton County Museum on April 14, where he was honored as the Veterans Council’s Veteran of the Month for April 2026.
“Best thing that ever happened to him in his life,” someone in the audience called out.
Marbry didn’t argue the point.
A Brighton upbringing, a neighbor’s influence
Randy Anthony Marbry was born July 11, 1961, in Brighton to Alex and Mildred Marbry. He grew up there, graduated from Brighton High School in 1979, and like a lot of young men in small Southern towns in that era, found the job market thin and slow after graduation.
The person who changed the trajectory of his life was a neighbor named Doug Windall, a World War II veteran.
“If it hadn’t been for that man, I probably wouldn’t have gone into the service. He was at the Battle of Midway. I’ve seen pictures of it. He was a great fellow.”
It was Windall who encouraged Marbry to enlist.
The Air Force said no, the Marines said yes.
And on Oct. 22, 1980, Randy Marbry raised his right hand.
From Parris Island to the Pacific
Marbry reported to boot camp at Parris Island on Nov. 1, 1980, as part of Platoon 3098. The next 10 weeks included the full complement of Marine Corps fundamentals – physical training, obstacle courses, rifle qualification, close combat, guard duty, mess duty and time in the gas chamber. He graduated Jan. 16, 1981, as a Marine private.
He was assigned Military Occupational Specialty 0311 – Rifleman – with Echo Company, the “Warlords” of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Almost immediately, his unit put out the call for volunteers. The assignment: join Marines from the 5th and 6th Regiments aboard the USS Plymouth Rock (LSD 29) for UNITAS XXII, a joint amphibious exercise with the U.S. Navy and several South American nations.
Marbry heard “boat” and pictured a cruise ship.
“That did not quite turn out as he imagined,” Tipton County Veterans Council President Bob Willis noted dryly while reading Marbry’s biography, prompting laughter from the crowd.
What it turned out to be was one of the more remarkable chapters of his service.
The Plymouth Rock sailed through the South Atlantic and around South America, serving as a platform for joint training with Dutch, Ecuadorian, Colombian, Uruguayan and Peruvian military personnel. Marbry and his fellow Marines practiced amphibious landings, participated in joint maneuvers and cross-trained on weaponry with foreign counterparts. The ship also received an inspection by Vice Adm. Brigido of the Brazilian Navy.
And then there was the equator.
Pollywogs, Shellbacks and King Neptune
Crossing the equator aboard a Navy vessel is serious business, at least by centuries-old tradition. Those who haven’t made the crossing are Pollywogs. Those who have are Shellbacks. And getting from one to the other involves an initiation that Marbry described to the crowd with obvious relish.
The Shellbacks on board hide a Jolly Roger somewhere on the ship. If the Pollywogs find it, they get to make things difficult for the Shellbacks until morning. Then the Pollywogs spend the next day walking the ship like ducks – through every space, including the mess – while the Shellbacks throw things at them. Things, Marbry noted with a grin, “you don’t really want.”
The initiation concluded with a dunking tank.
“They take your head, they dunk you under the water, pull you up,” he said. “‘Who are you?’ Well, I kept saying Pollywog.” He paused for effect. “I kind of figured it out after the last one. ‘Shellback, sir!’ I was done with that.”
The certificate that proved it – his induction into the Ancient Order of Shellbacks – was on display at the museum Tuesday night. Willis noted he’d done 30 years in the Marine Corps and never earned one.
Mount Fuji, South Korea and a very large aircraft carrier
Marbry enjoyed his first Navy cruise enough to volunteer for a second. This one took him to Okinawa, where he spent six months training, then to Japan.
The ship pulled into port alongside the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), a nuclear aircraft carrier.
“I thought I was on a big ship,” Marbry said. “Our radio tower wouldn’t even reach the flight deck! I was on a matchbox.”
From there, he and his unit made the climb up Mount Fuji for cold weather training – a “nice leisure walk,” as he put it. Then it was on to South Korea, where he spent six more months training near the northern border.
“I could see over the northern border,” he said. “Over there, you don’t want to be on the beach at night. They shoot and don’t ask questions. So I didn’t go on the beach.”
Back at Camp Lejeune, Marbry also participated in cross-training at Lackland Air Force Base, working alongside U.S. Army medical officers in field exercises. Not long after, his tour came to a close.
He was discharged Oct. 17, 1986, as a Lance Corporal, having completed his initial and reserve time – including one year, four months and 27 days of sea time. He was awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with one star and the Rifle Expert Badge.
Back home in Tipton County
Marbry married Barbie Brown, the daughter of Bobby and Louise Brown of the Cotton Lake community, on Nov. 20, 1983. The couple has two daughters, Lindsay and Jenna, and three grandsons: Aiden Harvey, 10; Archie Harvey, 7; and John Marbry, 7. Randy is also a cancer survivor.
Tuesday’s ceremony at the museum was packed with family, friends and fellow veterans. Marbry’s wife, daughters, in-laws, grandsons and what seemed like most everyone else who’s ever mattered to him.
Marbry was nominated for the honor by his cousin-in-law, Tipton County Museum Naturalist Sherl Rose.
Recognitions came from across the veterans community, including the American Legion Post 237, VFW Post 4840, the DAV Millington Chapter 116, Military Officers Association Memphis Chapter and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. State Rep. Deborah Moody, unable to attend because the House chamber was in session, called in to extend her congratulations by phone. A flag flown over the Tennessee State Capitol in his honor was also presented.
In his remarks, Marbry circled back to where it all started: a World War II veteran on a quiet street in Brighton who believed a young man was worth the nudge.
“I want to thank God,” he said. “And I want to thank all the other veterans out there. And I want to thank everybody here tonight for honoring me.”
The Tipton County Museum and the Tipton County Veterans Council honor local veterans every month. To nominate someone, please visit tiptoncountymuseum.org/veteran-of-the-month.
