In 1990, Joseph Steimle graduated from Elder High School. At the time, Mr. Steimle had college on his mind. However, after attending college for a while, Mr. Steimle decided that he wanted to join the Marine Corps.

After his years as a marine in infantry, Mr. Steimle and his wife started another chapter in their lives, giving birth to their first son, Tyler. They didn’t know it then, but Tyler’s birth would lead to the continuation of a respected male family member legacy of attending Elder High School and moving on to become a marine. A few years after Tyler’s birth, the Steimle’s then gave birth to another baby, which they named Austin.

Tyler started at Elder in the fall of 2007 and graduated in 2011. He had college in his sights, and ended up attending the University of Cincinnati. After a while though, Tyler also felt the same calling to the Marine Corps that his father had felt in his college days. Early into his college career, Tyler decided to forgo the finishing of his college career to go pursue his calling and follow his father’s footsteps. Tyler currently serves his country as a member of the logistics division of the Marine Corps.

Growing up, Austin had always looked up to his older brother and father. To him, their service was nothing short of incredible. I recently interviewed Austin and asked him about his calling to the Marines. Austin replied, saying “I always felt the draw to the Marine Corps ever since I was a little kid. Growing up, I never even thought about college—it was always the Marines.” Austin ended up graduating from Elder in 2014 and left for the Marine Corps in November of that year. Austin is currently a member of the Marine intel division.

Current Senior Hunter Steimle is hoping to fulfill his family’s legacy. He has already expressed his commitment to the Marines through enlisting earlier this year. After talking with his brother Austin it sounds like he’ll be heading off for training in 2016. During an interview with Hunter, I asked him what made him fall in love with the Marine Corps. Hunter replied, saying “Growing up in a military family, I had always been aware of the Marines. What made me fall in love with the Marine Corps was just seeing those men in uniform, knowing they’re defending our amazing country. I’ve always wanted to be one of those brave men.”

Hunter also said that he cannot wait until the day he earns the title of “United States Marine.” In order to become a Marine, Hunter will have to go through 13 weeks of intense boot camp training. This boot camp is held in Parris Island, South Carolina, and will be followed by another three weeks of training more specific to his division.

Overall, the legacy these Steimle men have created is nothing short of incredible. Even their individual commitments to serving our country are impressive enough, but the fact that all of these men that have committed happen to be in the same family is amazing. By dedicating their lives to serving and protecting our great nation, these Steimle men have and are still living out one of Elder’s core mottos: “What I had, I gave. What I saved, I lost.”