Get to Know Dan Landry
Dan is a Veteran of the Marine Corps attending the University of New Hampshire. He served in the Marine Corps for 5 active years and visited over 20 different countries during all deployments. He is now pursing his Bachelor’s degree as well as being involved in many on campus organizations and activities outside of school.
The Basics:
Hometown: Lowell, MA
Grade: Junior
Major: Political Science
Dream job: Firefighter
Involvement on campus: Wildcat Youth Mentors, Teen Night, Student Armed Forces Association
UNH Favorites
Hoco or Philly? Philly
Dimond or Paul? Dimond
DHOP, Dominos, or Papa Johns? DHOP all day
Scorps or Libbys? Libbys (I won’t wait in line in the cold for an hour)
Football or hockey? Hockey
About Dan
Why did you chose to enlist in the military? At the time, I had a scholarship to Norwich which had a good program to allow me to advance to officer, but I knew the war was winding down and wanted to join the military in time so that I could go be a part of it.
Why did you pick the Marine Corps? I chose the Marine Corps because after talking with all the branches I saw it as the best fit for me. We see ourselves as the best and carry ourselves with an amazing sense of pride that I knew I had to be a part of.
What was your most memorable experience during your time serving? Over all my deployments, I went to over 20 countries for operations and training. This included Israel, Romania, Spain, Djibouti, and a lot more. Meeting people from all over the world and working with foreign militaries had a huge impact on me, and I hope to continue traveling and visiting some of the people I worked with while I was deployed. The guys I was with, my platoon and squad were the best guys I ever knew, I still keep in touch to this day, and look forward to continuing my relationships with them for the rest of my life.
Did you receive any special recognition overseas? I received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
Would you recommend others to enlist the military as well? I would say that that is completely situationally dependent. It depends on the person and what they want to do. People don’t realize how big and how many different jobs there are across the military. For example, I have good friends who did computer work in the Air Force who did nothing even close to what I did as an infantry Marine. To give a simple answer though, yes, I would recommend it. Being a Marine has definitely set me up for success with the benefits I receive, but also preparing me for life afterwards.