Churchill Place Honors Resident Greg Drinan’s Military Legacy

For Churchill Place Memory Care resident Greg Drinan, military service is part of a long family tradition. A Wheaton, Illinois native, Greg enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968 during the Vietnam War era.

At the time, Greg was a college student at Southern Illinois University, where he met his future wife, Susan, in 1967. With the possibility of a draft looming, the couple married just two weeks after Greg proposed. Susan soon learned she was expecting their first child while Greg was away completing basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina.

After training, Greg served as a heavy equipment mechanic at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He later returned to college and continued his service in the Marine Corps Reserve, commuting from Southern Illinois to St. Louis for monthly drills. After the couple moved to the Chicago area, he transferred to Glenview Naval Station and eventually retired as a sergeant in 1975.

Military service runs deep in Greg’s family. His father served in the Navy during World War II, surviving 18 kamikaze attacks in the Pacific. His brother also served as a Marine in Vietnam.

Greg’s dedication to military service and his amazing stories remain an important part of his legacy. And he continues to be a respected and much-loved member of the Churchill Memory Care family.

The full story of Greg and his family’s military history was recently featured by Shaw Local. Read the article here.

‍