“Once a Marine,Always a Marine” Meet Caroline Fermin

story by cindy reid    photography by paul nurnberg

Caroline Fermin, (Lieutenant Colonel, USMC, Retired ) exemplifies the
motto “Once a Marine, always a Marine”  through her active duty
service and now in her position as Executive Director of the Parris
Island Historical and Museum Society, located at the Marine Corps
Recruit Depot at Parris Island.

Also ‘once a Beaufortonian, always a Beaufortonian,” Caroline has
come full circle from her days as a Laurel Bay teenager. On choosing
to move here after her military retirement she says, “Although
Beaufort has grown immensely, it has not lost the quaintness of a
small town. It still has the charm, and the people are very gracious
so it is not surprising that it has won so many accolades. I have been
to some of world’s most beautiful places, but the beauty here is
indescribable. And it is home.”

Beaufort became home when Caroline’s father, Jim Fermin, who
served twenty seven years in the Navy as a Medical Service Corps
Officer, was stationed at MCAS Beaufort in 1979. He would go on to
serve at Naval Hospital Beaufort and retired at MCRD Parris Island in
1985. After graduating from Battery Creek High School, Caroline
attended the University of South Carolina, first in Beaufort and then
in Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She
says, “I found psychology really interesting and I wanted to ‘help
hurt people’, by becoming a counsellor or therapist.” But after
working in the field Caroline decided it wasn’t a perfect fit for her
and so she decided to apply her talents in a new endeavour.

Corps and Country

Revisiting her desire to serve her country, Caroline waited three
years through a USMC recruitment backlog, ultimately joining the USMC
in 1988. She was chosen from a highly competitive field to attend the
thirteen-week Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Quantico, VA. Being
older than her OCS peers was actually a help, because as Caroline
says, “I had already had my partying out of my system, so when my
peers were headed to DC for the weekend, I stayed in the squad bay —
starching utilities, spit shining boots and getting ready for the
coming week.”

While making a decision as to what she would concentrate on in
her military career, Caroline’s brother Ralph (also a Marine, now
retired) asked her a simple but profound question. Did she want to use
her time in the Marines to prepare herself for a job after her service
or did she want to “lead Marines.” Caroline says her immediate answer
was “Yes I want to lead Marines!” and she chose to concentrate on the
field of communications.

Her first duty station was in Okinawa, Japan, where she had
previously spent two years as a Program Director for the University of
Maryland. When she arrived as a Marine she thought “This is it- and I
love it! Due to my time there with the University of Maryland, I was
already acclimated to the culture of the country and so was able to
hit the ground running. I was ready to be part of a whole.”

Caroline served as a communications officer and adjutant in duty
stations at the U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, in Hawaii; at the Marine
Corps Recruiting Command, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, Washington,
DC; and the U.S. Central Command in Florida. While serving she
continually obtained higher education, achieving a Masters in
Economics from Johns Hopkins University; a Masters in Military Studies
from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College; and a Masters of
Strategic Studies from the Marine Corps War College.

While still active duty Caroline married a fellow Marine and
started a family. After the birth of her twin sons, she says,
“Everyone thought once I had my twins I would get out, but I stayed
in. In fact, three days after the twins were born I started my last
semester for my masters in economics program. The boys were born on
January 4 and I was physically in class on January 6.”

Having a strong family and faith sustained Caroline when she
found herself a single parent after her husband left when the boys
were only three years old. She says, “I could not have stayed in the
Marines after my husband left if it wasn’t for my mother and very best
friend, Deb. They would come stay with the boys; fly to whereever we
were, at a moment’s notice. I have been so very blessed by their help
over the years, they made so much possible.”

However, a spinal injury, reinjured when her car was rear ended
in 2010, resulted in a ten level spine discetomy/fusion and after
eleven surgeries, medical retirement from the Marines became an
unwelcome reality. “It was my time,” Caroline says of her retirement.
“I relied on my faith to show me the next step”.

After her retirement from the Marines, Caroline and sons Caelan
and Logan, moved back home to Beaufort. Although her spinal injuries
are severe enough to classify her as 100% disabled, Caroline wanted to
continue working and contributing to her community.

“Esprit de Corps”

The “spirit” of a unit. This spirit is commonly reflected by all
members. It implies devotion and loyalty to the Marine Corps, with
deep regard for history, traditions and honor.

A conversation with a fellow retired Marine at the Beaufort
public library led to her current position as the first Executive
Director of the Parris Island Historical and Museum Society. She says,
“I knew this was the perfect job for me, but I was very nervous during
the interview process because I had never done anything like this
before. Once I accepted the position I enrolled in a master’s program
for non profit management because I wanted to possess the tools to be
successful, the saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ it is
particularly true in this field. “She continues, “I really love this
job, the Board of Directors has been extremely supportive of me, and
the museum is a treasure. It is an extremely busy and exciting time as
we celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Marine Corps Recruit
Depot at Parris Island.”

Looking around the museum, Caroline says “I love the Marine
Corps. It is such a unique organization, very mission orientated, very
deliberate and very focused.” She continues, “The camaraderie, the
brotherhood, the talented leaders. I feel privileged to be in this
position. ”

Faith, Family and Football

Caroline says, “I am very devout Catholic, and I really do
believe things happen for a reason. My retirement brought me back
home. My parents live next door and my three brothers live here in
Beaufort too. Once a week we all get together, and that’s 23 of us,
for a family dinner. We celebrate everything, from the big things to
the minor accomplishments!”

Her faith is central to her life and Caroline says “I teach
religious education classes (CCD) and am very involved in my church,
St. Peter’s Catholic Church.” She is an avid Gamecock fan (season
ticket holder), and loves spending time with the newest addition to
the family, her 18 month old grandson Matthew.

“I always knew I wanted to serve my country. I wasn’t entirely
sold on a career, because I also wanted to get married and have
children. I thought I would go to college, have a career and then get
married and have a family.” Caroline smiles, “But life worked out a
little differently for me, I had a wonderful twenty five year career
in the Marine Corps, two amazing sons, a beautiful grandson and I am
still working, now on a whole new career!”