Goodrich-On Friday, May 1, Oaktree Elementary fifth grade student Donovan Stower had to change buses for the ride home after school.
Stower, 10, had been assigned to school bus 2, instead he was instructed to ride bus 9.
And for good reason.
Unknown to Stower, his older brother, David Jeans, had boarded at the bus garage just a few miles away. The surprise meeting was to come after Marine Lance Corporal Jeans returned home from Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait where the 2013 GHS graduate had just served an eight month stint.
‘My little brother and I are good friends,? said Jeans. ‘And while I was gone we Skyped a few times, but I never really told him when I would return home. Donovan had thought it would be soon, but was not sure when.?
The meeting on bus 9 came after a plan with driver Lorinda Maki’a close friend of Jeans, who helped make the surprise happen.
Jeans served two years of a four year stint of active duty in the Marines’followed by four years of reserves.
‘It’s so hot there in Kuwait your face hurts,? said Jeans, who worked on generators to supply power to the remote base. ‘I was interested in the Marines during high school and had joined the young Marines,? he said. ‘My grandfather and uncle were both Marines before me. I joined because I wanted to go out and do for others that can’t help themselves.?
‘Training was tough for the Marines,? he added. ‘No matter how much you train going into the Marines you’re going to be challenged’you’re going to get better, too. Kuwait was a good experience, but there is just so much sand’I was really glad to see green grass when I got home. I was also glad to wear regular clothes’I wore the same uniform for eight months.?