{"id":2333,"date":"2025-04-06T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/?p=2333"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:01:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:01:57","slug":"voices-of-freedom-service-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/2025\/04\/06\/voices-of-freedom-service-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Voices of Freedom Service Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Giving back to others in Service as a Marine.  Now I am dedicated to caring for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans in Wartime<br>Voices of Freedom Project: Oral History Of Urgent Fury Veteran Boyd Lowry<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Voices of Freedom Project: Oral History Of Urgent Fury Veteran Boyd Lowry\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/avUjBZQGHpU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Background and Early Life<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd Lowry grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and attended Ridgewood High School.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He struggled in school and decided to join the Marine Corps instead of going to college.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Joining the Marine Corps<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd joined the Marine Corps in 1982, three days after graduating high school.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>His father, a minister, wanted him to be a conscientious objector, but Boyd chose to enlist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Training and Deployment<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd underwent boot camp at Parris Island and infantry training at Camp Pendleton.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He was assigned to Echo Company, which had just returned from Beirut.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grenada Invasion<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Initially set to deploy to Beirut, Boyd&#8217;s unit was redirected to Grenada following the assassination of the bishop and the declaration of martial law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Boyd participated in securing the island, facing mortar fire and engaging in house-to-house searches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beirut Deployment<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After Grenada, Boyd&#8217;s unit returned to their original mission in Beirut as part of the multinational peacekeeping force.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They faced significant challenges, including the aftermath of the Beirut barracks bombing and subsequent combat situations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Combat Experiences<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd described intense combat situations, including securing positions, building bunkers, and facing enemy fire.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He highlighted the emotional and psychological impact of these experiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Faith and Personal Growth<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd&#8217;s faith played a crucial role in his service, helping him reconcile the challenges of combat with his beliefs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He emphasized the importance of accepting one&#8217;s mission and the sacrifice involved in military service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Post-Service Life<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd became a serial entrepreneur and now runs FirstLight, a company that cares for seniors and veterans in Bergen County.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He continues to serve his community and teach youth at his church.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reflections on Service<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boyd wants future generations to understand the purpose and sacrifice involved in military service.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He hopes to inspire others with his story and emphasize the importance of integrity, honesty, and service to others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giving back to others in Service as a Marine. Now I am dedicated to caring for others. Americans in WartimeVoices of Freedom Project: Oral History Of Urgent Fury Veteran Boyd Lowry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[4,6,11],"class_list":["post-2333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-videos","tag-award","tag-firstlight","tag-service"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-glen-rock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}