Marines Try to Recruit 78-Year-Old Woman

Yahoo ^ | 3/25/06

[Mr. Brightside]

Marines Try to Recruit 78-Year-Old Woman

Sat Mar 25, 4:28 AM ET

SAUGUS, Calif. - Sonia Goldstein was flattered by the nice recruiting letter asking her to consider becoming one of "the few, the proud." But at age 78, she believes she's just a little old to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"I couldn't believe it," Goldstein told KCAL-TV on Friday. "My girls were sitting here ... we were in hysterics, we laughed so hard."

The letter told her the corps could use her unique language skills, but also warned that life as a Marine would test her physical and mental abilities "beyond anything you've ever known."

"There I am with my walker. I can't maneuver from here to there without it," said Goldstein, who added that her only language is English.

"I'll do whatever I could for this wonderful country we live in," she said. "But you know, this is kind of stretching it a bit."

The Marines ordinarily recruit people 18 to 27, said Maj. Joseph Kloppel, a corps spokesman. He said the letter must have been sent by mistake.

"Seventy-eight is obviously too old," Kloppel added.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Apparently no more Sonia Goldsteins at that address though.

Sheesh! We need to take up a collection to pay for you a sense of irony transplant.

[Alouette]

I get recruitment mail from the armed services all the time. Apparently they have my name on some mailing list. Why am I not being interviewed on national TV?

[festus]

Me at 29 no joke.

[dufekin]

I think I got invited to join AARP at 22. I was still a student then--certainly not retired. I respectfully declined by disposing of their mailings.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Sheesh! We need to take up a collection to pay for you a sense of irony transplant.

Perhaps. Would it be any more ironic if she received a penis enlargement solicitation in her email?

[dancusa]

Semper arthritis!

[F.J. Mitchell]

Could be, I suppose, though I don't really see the connection. Nor the need to drop the discussion below the belt.

[Oztrich Boy]

what a stupid non-story.

It's a amusement. The incongruity is part of life's rich tapestry.

Sonia thought it was funny. The reporter thought it was funny. I thought it was funny.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Guess I took it the wrong way. The headline made it sound like the military was so desperate for recruits, they resorted to going after senior citizens....

[ChildOfThe60s]

Not bad!

[Liberal Classic]

I'm not too old after all!

[TommyUdo]

My Father-in-Law is in his mid-70's. A couple of years ago he received a letter from the US Army offering him a Commission if he would volunteer his services.

He is a retired Veterinarian who specialized in diseases of Poultry.

Scary.

[Riley]

I think that there are special rules for recruiting military doctors. 70+ may be a little old, but I am given to understand that the skills are so desireable, that medical professionals in general get HUGE consideration.

[Clintonfatigued]

Too funny!

[A.A. Cunningham]

Incorrect. McMahon retired as a Colonel in 1966, no star.

[TommyUdo]

He was involved in the Newcastle's Disease eradication programs here in CA during the early 70's for the USDA and did some other work in similar areas for both the State of CA and USDA.

He figured US Army+Newcastle's and other weird avian virus work=Biowarfare stuff, so he passed. His brother, who did some of the same work and is a bit younger is consulting with the Navy for something or other.

[Riley]

Incorrect. McMahon retired as a Colonel in 1966, no star.

I knew that he left the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel. It's been fairly widely reported that he is either a Brigadier or an honorary Brigadier in the California Air National Guard.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Old bag... LOL! thats harsh!


That was harsh I admit. But I think she made a big deal out of nothing. I get spam for Viagra and Levitra and that doesn't seem to be a problem for me because I'm not a guy. The media just wanted to make it look like the military is desperate so they made a story out of nothing.

[fjsva]

McMahon retired as a Colonel in 1966

Back in the day when you could respect many of the Hollywood stars.

[FreedomCalls]

Man, I'm 42 - too old to re-enlist in the army - I work out three days a week, and I can't even get pinged by the gaddamned Coast Guard Reserve.

Good News! You got your chance. Call an Army recruiter.

The Army has raised the enlistment age to 42.

FORT KNOX, Ky. (Army News Service, June 22, 2006) – The Army has raised the enlistment age to 42, made possible under provisions of the Fiscal Year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act.