2021 LAHS graduate Robert Ignatius Kuropatwinski leaves Monday for Marine Boot Camp. Courtesy photo
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
Robert Ignatius Kuropatwinski graduated in May from Los Alamos High School and Monday boards a plane for Marine Boot Camp in San Diego, Calif.
“I’ve wanted to join some branch of the military since about the eighth grade and about a year and a half ago made the decision to join the Marines,” Kuropatwinski said during an interview Wednesday with the Los Alamos Daily Post. “I decided on the Marines for its feeling of honor and commitment and also for the feeling of belonging and brotherhood and camaraderie.”
Kuropatwinski, 18, has a long history of participating in service oriented endeavors. He joined the Boy Scouts in first grade and completed his Eagle Scout project at the Pajarito Environmental Education Center in 2020. He was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout earlier this year. Kuropatwinski also participated in NJROTC all four years of high school.
Kuropatwinski will spend the next 13 weeks in boot camp after which he is scheduled to serve eight years in the Marines. He will spend four years active duty and four years in the reserves, he said, adding that he has the option to spend his full career in the Marines and will make that decision sometime down the line.
Kuropatwinski is the son of James and Shelly Kuropatwinski.
“Ignatius is a good guy always looking for a challenge and the Marines should give it to him,” James said. “He is a son of Los Alamos and will represent Los Alamos and New Mexico well in the Corps. I am very proud of our boy!”
Shelly agreed with her husband in the esteem they each hold for their son.
“I am proud beyond words and humbled beyond belief,” she said.
A Marine recruiter told the Post that during the next 13 weeks, Kuropatwinski will undergo intense physical and mental training to become a Marine.
“Robert Ignatius has wanted to become a Marine for a long time and has made all the right decisions to this point to not just be a qualified but a highly qualified candidate to become one of the few and the proud.”