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posted: Sep 11 2007

SAN+LANDREO, CA

SAN LANDREO, CA

A Family Commitment

San Leandro, CA -- Production for the America's Marines television commercial kicks off before dawn on Tuesday. On Monday, we got a taste of things to come for the next two months.

The Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon gave a lunch-time performance for students at San Leandro High School, just south of Oakland. But no one in the stands was as enthusiastic as Tammy and Gary Wright. They flew down from Forest Grove, Oregon just to catch the performance.

The Wrights had a very personal interest, seeing as their son, Corporal Ryan Wiley, was on the field as a member of the Silent Drill Platoon. As much as they were focused on the field, they were equally energized by the students' reactions.

"You could hear their gasps and see their expressions," Tammy said.

"For some of these kids this show will be a real revelation," Gary added

The impact of Marines in dress blues can have on a teenager is something they know a great deal about. Cpl. Ryan Wiley and his brother Corporal Adam Wiley joined the Marine Corps within months of each other. Ryan, 21, their oldest, shipped out on Mother's Day, 2004. Adam, 20, shipped out on the 4th of July that same year.

Gary, himself a former Marine, told her to expect that the boys would mature in recruit training.

"My boys came back to me as men, with a whole new mindset," Tammy said.

"You really see it with their friends, they get treated with a whole new level of respect," Gary said.

Cpl. Adam Wiley is currently training to deploy with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. While his brother, Cpl Ryan Wiley, continues to serve as a member of the Silent Drill Platoon, stationed at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.

"They're still my boys, to me," Tammy said. "But out there on the field, they're men who inspire others to step up to the same challenges and transform themselves."

"Becoming a Marine, there isn't a higher calling than that," she said.