For instance:
Boot polish.. Lots of boot polish! I spent the summer of ‘72 in boot camp.. Best wishes to your son and you.
Money. And for the rest of the time hes in service, money.
How about a personal sidearm? Of course you’ll have to check for his preference.
Find out if he streams films, games and music and to what device. Buy gift card accordingly. A check or cash in a card is always appreciated.
For instance:
wet ones?
Sounds silly but...those things really work..! Those are wet tissues that clean stuff fast and effectively
Timex G-shock also wouldn’t be bad —for timed runs, etc.
And THIS:
A good quality watch such as the Casio G-Shock.
Maybe just a standard Swiss Army Knife, not too large but containing the most useful blades. The super tinker is my favorite.
A USMC K-Bar.
Some neat stuff here. Military t-shirts, ball caps even sock that says “USMC”.
Olympus makes some nice water proof digital cameras. They have different ones at different price points.
I bought one of the roughly hundred dollar ones and used it at the beach. I have a bunch of Digital SLRs but did not want to expose them to the salt water and sand.
Anyway I loved the images the Olympus made and just washed it off before putting it away.
My mother gave me a 4 leaf clover before I headed to Jump School back in the day, carried it in my wallet and on every jump I was on until I lost my wallet in Thailand. Meant a lot to me
And this is kind of neat too, how about a Marines license plate frame? :) There’s a keepsake box, iphone cover.
http://www.cafepress.com/+usmcfp+gifts
I agree with JudgemAll...
I gave my nephew a standard issue-type USMC Kabar as a departure gift when he entered the Marines...
Couldn’t take it with him to boot camp, but he later did take it when he was deployed to Afghanistan...
He was very happy to get a “real Marine Kabar”...His words...
Marinparents.com shop (CLICK DA PICTURE)
I think it’s very generous of you to plan on buying him a gift.
My suggestion is to ask him, what he would like, that way you will know for sure you are getting him the right gift he will appreciate and use.
Get him a personalized Leatherman tool. Super useful and he’ll think of you when he uses it, which will be often!
I think one of the most unique, most interesting, most useful and most memorable gift one could give to someone is to pay for a DNA genomic analysis for possible future health conditions.
For $99.00 one can get a DNA test done via ancestry.com either by directly setting up an account or purchasing same through amazon.con at:
http://www.amazon.com/AncestryDNA-Genetic-Testing-DNA-Test/dp/B00TRLVKW0
Either way, they mail you a test kit, you fill a small vial with saliva, mail it back and activate the kit online at the time you mail it back.
Six weeks later they email you back that the results are done and then you can log back into the account and download your DNA genome file, which is basically just a small text file.
For five dollars, you can then upload your genome file into:
and in a few minutes you will receive a notice from promethease.com that you can download an interactive HTML file that includes a health interpretation of your genome based on all the latest scientific research regarding which genes can be problematic in terms of future (or even current) disease.
There are MANY diseases that can be avoided in the future by making simple lifestyle changes such as avoiding gluten if you have a high propensity for developing Celiac disease, or taking supplements that could help ward off other possible diseases such as taking lutein and Zeathanthin if one is prone to macular degeneration.
In some cases, actual genetic diseases that WILL happen or are happening right now could show up.
In other cases, where disease may show up but there’s not much you can do about it ‘til it happens, at least you’re aware it COULD happen and be on the lookout for symptoms so that if it DOES happen then you’ll know what’s going on right away and can get an early start on treatment without having to go to a dozen doctors and take a hundred tests.
I really think a genomic analysis is one of the greatest gifts that anyone could give to someone.
SOA V42 Marine Dagger Banks Edition with Sheath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM1By8cGGZg
http://www.budk.com/V42-Military-Stiletto-Dagger-with-Sheath-21850
These are very popular among the troops.