Corporal. Kelsey De Santis was the ballsy young lady who asked Justin Timberlake- via YouTube - to be her date to the Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Virginia.
Well, Corporal Kelsey may have gotten a celebrity date, but she in effect did something more - made a member of the entertainment elite fully realize the sacrifices members of the armed services make so that they may ride around safely in limos filled with champagne, hookers, and menservants.
To his credit, Justin posted a long letter about the dinner/dance on his blog - it's heartfelt, sincere, and has the ring of a man who has seen the light. Hopefully he can shine it on some of his knee-jerk angry leftist Hollywood contemporaries...
Some excerpts:
I'm writing this out to all of you after attending an event that turned out to be one of the most moving evenings I've ever had...
I had the honor and privilege last night of attending The Basic School Instructor Battalion 236th Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Greater Richmond Convention Center with Corporal Kelsey DeSantis...
I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn't forget... Something I could tell my friends about. What I didn't know was how moved I would be by the whole experience.
She seemed to me to be so humble and honest... Very cool. She also simultaneously seemed like she was nervous about the whole evening and if I was going to enjoy myself. "Are you ok?" she asked 2 or 3 times. "I hope you are having fun. I know you will once my crew of friends get here to the table." I have to tell you, it's not every day that I meet a 23 year old girl and she's more worried about if I'm having fun or if I'm comfortable! It hit me all of a sudden that these were the type of people that look after us and our freedom... Humble, concerned for others before themselves... This was the type of person our Marine Corps was building. I was really blown away.
It seemed like all of a sudden I was surrounded by her great friends and fellow Marines as the closest ones to her made their way to our table. She again assured me that I was going to love all of her friends--that they were a "kick-ass" group of people.
She couldn't have been more right. I laughed and laughed with all of them almost immediately and felt very close to them... They reminded me of my friends (the ones I like, at least). Cool, un-affected, and real. This was going to be a fun night.
What happened then took me by such surprise that I was almost brought to tears. In fact, our whole table was...
Read it all.
...Thank you Corporal Kelsey DeSantis. Thank you for inviting me. And, thank you for being my hero.
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