TOP CHARACTER STRENGTHS

BRAVERY - HUMOR - SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Roger Muchnick Jr. was a charismatic son and proud older brother. He was the type of person who brought an almost inexplicable energy into each room and each endeavor that he took on. Perpetually successful and infinitely intelligent, he truly seemed immune to failure. He excelled as an athlete, similar to Travis Manion, and had a warrior-like spirit on and off the field. It was no surprise when he joined the Marine Corps and seemed to immediately find his calling. His athleticism and aptitude allowed for him to quickly excel among his peers, in training and while deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. The fierce loyalty and pride from his fellow Marines was only exceeded by his family’s, as they watched him transform into a version of himself beyond our expectations. Tragically, during a live fire training exercise in 2013, Roger and six of his team members lost their lives. It was an excruciating end to a life filled with so much success and even more potential. His family, friends, and Marines still revere him and try to uphold his energy, standards, and drive in difficult settings that bring about untold heights. He will forever be remembered as someone who answered the call of "If Not Me, Then Who…" with the ultimate sacrifice.

Character Strength Story:

Hard to find just one story that illustrates the person he was, but since this is a military forum, a basic training story came to mind. Roger called home one day and said that during one of the combative exercises, while using pugil sticks, he leaned heavily on his lacrosse experience. He absolutely tormented the first person they put in front of him, so the drill instructors quickly found a more suitable Marine candidate and unleashed him across the pit. Roger proceeded to quickly unwind this Marine in an even shorter amount of time, driving the drill instructors mad with his violent and succinct wins. They instructed him to perform a series of physical training maneuvers while they decided which Marine candidate would be able to fulfill their need to see Roger dropped on his ass. Finally they reprieved him on the pushups, sit-ups, and squats he had been performing to face one of the largest and most athletic Marines in the unit. Roger said since they were fairly far along in training he was in very good shape, but for the sake of the drill instructors and new opponent he breathed heavily and lowered his head. When the new candidate (most likely threatened if he were to lose) came charging at him he back stepped in retreat—ducked and quickly whipped around and hit his opponent so hard it knocked off the football helmet he was wearing, which elicited a huge uproar from his fellow Marines in the combative pit. After hearing this story we were astonished and asked how he was rewarded for this feat and he replied, "I got to call you guys and tell you.” Just a small example of some of the special qualities that lived within Roger - bravery, humor and incredibly high emotional intelligence.

-Submitted by William, Surviving Brother