First published in the Nov. 4 print issue of the San Marino Tribune.
Ryan Sabin was packed and ready to head off to college at Utah State University. That was August 2018.
The San Marino High School graduate, known for his athleticism, chose the 28,000-student Logan, Utah, campus for its wide-open campus and focus on the outdoor lifestyle. Sabin spent most of his high school time in the elements, having played varsity football, soccer, and baseball at SMHS. He was so proficient in athletics that he won the school’s Joe Pappalardo 110% award his senior year, 2018.
Sabin was recently promoted to the rank of Corporal and was selected as the “guidon bearer,” or guide, for his USMC battalion at Camp Pendleton.
Sabin planned to continue his athletic career in college, until he saw his family’s two cars loaded with his personal effects.
“We were going to drive both cars to Utah, leave one with Ryan and drive the other one back,” Sabin’s father, James Sabin, said.
Neither car left the driveway that day, at least not with Utah as a destination.
Instead, Sabin decided that August morning that he wanted to serve his country. Sabin took a year off, got into even better physical condition, worked in a local warehouse, and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He shipped out for basic training in January 2020, then became part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Weapons Company as a machine gunner. His unit was deployed to the Kuwait in March 2021. In August, he was assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force, Crisis Response, Central Command that was sent to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Sabin was an integral part of the evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan and was at the airport on the fateful day of Aug. 26 when 13 U.S. service members were killed.
“I’m really proud of my decision to become a Marine, and I’m extremely grateful for the community support that we experienced upon our return from the Middle East,” Sabin said.
At a recent SMHS football game, Sabin received raucous applause when it was announced that he was in Titan Stadium.
“Being an infantry Marine is as great a progression from playing sports in high school as it is also a natural one,” he said. “I’m grateful for the developmental opportunities that were provided to me socially, academically and athletically through the community. I’m also appreciative of the welcoming response by family, friends, and supporting civilians upon our return to the states from deployment.”
Sure sounds like a Marine.
Sabin has earned other notations this year. In January, he earned a Meritorious Mast for “performing his duties in an exemplary and highly professional manner” during an integrated training exercise at Twentynine Palms. During deployment in August, Sabin received a Certificate of Commendation for “achievements that set him apart from his peers as he was chosen as the 2nd Battalion, First Marines nominee for Marine of the Quarter” that said his “professionalism and dedication to duty reflected credit on him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps.”
In September, he was meritoriously promoted to the rank of corporal and was selected as the “guidon bearer,” or guide, when his battalion returned to Camp Pendleton after its historic deployment.
