TOP CHARACTER STRENGTHS

KINDNESS - ZEST - LEADERSHIP

Anthony was born on June 26, 1998. He was a sweet, creative, protective, loving little boy. In the second grade, he wrote a paper that said, "When I grow up I want to fight for my country and defend the America." Anthony was a true patriot and protector. He was brave, resourceful, determined, motivated, fearless, and kind hearted. Anthony loved painting, was an avid reader of everything military, loved cooking and was actually pretty good at it! He enjoyed running, working out and nutrition.

Anthony joined the Marine Corps and shipped out to boot camp on his 18th birthday. Anthony served as a machine gunner and vehicle commander while serving with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines while stationed at Twentynine Palms, CA, at the time of his passing. He served over four years with three deployments. Anthony passed away on November 19, 2021. As tribute for his dedicated service, Anthony was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. He was well respected and loved by his peers, junior Marines, friends and family. He is missed and loved every single day.

Character Strength Story:

LEADERSHIP - This was written by Lance Corporal Devyn Dockery. He served with Anthony at Twentynine Palms, CA. Anthony’s leadership traits and what he keyed on:

- Leading by example and always volunteering for the hard tasks that no one wanted to do. Always kept his gear organized/clean/packed tight.
- Never showing laziness when it was time to work.
- Talking to his guys like men and not belittling them. But had the ability to switch to being serious when needed. Which earned more respect and trust.
- Taking time to push advanced knowledge to his guys on his off time or in the field. Whether it was gear knowledge, patrolling, or gun knowledge. Showing he loved his job. Guys would not get this knowledge until advanced school if they even got selected.
- Corrected physical deficiencies by running with the Marine, not just yoking them up (yelling at them or making them do dumb things until they fixed themselves). because that was one of his strong suits. If you raced him in PT every day then you would get faster and it worked. This method encouraged guys to work harder because it showed he actually cared.
- Always selfless. Didn’t matter what time it was, you could call Anthony and he would help you the best he could and wouldn’t make you feel stupid or like you were wasting his time.
- Always tried to get to know his guys on a personal level. Most seniors would distance themselves, he wasn’t like that. This develops trust which makes platoons or gun teams more efficient.

In summary, Anthony was fit, confident, approachable, aggressive, fair, determined, knowledgeable, selfless, open to others ideas or tactics, efficient, organized. One hell of a Leader. he will be missed.

ZEST - One of Anthony's nicknames was "Motivated Muhlstadt." Anthony could be in the most miserable of situations and find the drive and the motivation to inspire and uplift all of those around him. His battle buddies would get so aggravated, standing in the pouring rain about to ruck 10 miles and then here comes Anthony yelling, "Hell Yeah! I love this shit! RAH!" He had a way of making a less than desirable situation tolerable. His love for country and Corps was unmatched. Everything he loved to do he did with love, excitement and went full throttle. While in the field he would be the first one up and would start doing Reveille at the top of his voice. Naturally people wanted him to stop and hush, but as we were told repeatedly, Anthony's enthusiasm was contagious and inspiring. Always making people smile, never in a bad mood.

KINDNESS - Anthony had a sweet soul. When he was in middle school he was competing for the state championship in grappling. The last match was him and a bigger kid. Anthony put a hurting on him, won with a tap out. Anthony fought aggressively, no mercy, but when the job was done, they shook hands and walked over to their coaches. Anthony immediately turned around, walked back over to the kid, gave him a bear hug, shook his hand and said, " Hey man, you fought really good, ok. You did good, real good." He was so sincere and the other kid was so surprised! We loved watching Anthony display such kindness and compassion. He continued to do this throughout his life. He was humble and compassionate. When he took his own life, in his goodbye note, he asked for everyone to just be kind to one another.

—Submitted by Tanya, Surviving Mother