Ziaire O’Brien and Luke Johnson

Coming Full Circle, Serving at Home

story by NAKEISHA DAWSON-THOMPSON           photos by JOHN WOLLWERTH

Growing up in Beaufort, Ziaire O’Brien and Luke Johnson drove past the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot and wondered what was on the other side of the gates. They grew up seeing active duty and retired Marines everywhere: at school, at the grocery store, and growing up in the community.

Today, they are both Marines and are serving and watching over the training and transformation of young men into Marines. However, this wasn’t the initial plan for either of them.

Luke Johnson was born in Florida, but his family moved to Beaufort when he was one. Luke was an only child. He and his family lived in the Laurel Bay area, where he remained until he graduated from high school. Luke attended Battery Creek High School (BCHS) with Mr. Edmond Burnes as principal and graduated in 2010. At BCHS, Luke took a strong interest in sports. He was on the wrestling team under Coach Chad Cox, now principal at BCHS. He also played football and baseball from the 9th grade through his senior year. To prepare for The Citadel, he joined the track team in his final year of high school. Luke says he knew if he ever decided to join any military branch, it would be the United States Marine Corps (USMC), but at that time, he was focused on receiving his degree.

Luke states, “Attending the Citadel was rough, but it made my overall character better!” His intention wasn’t to join the USMC but to earn his engineering degree. At some point during his time at The Citadel, all that changed. Luke obtained a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. After graduating from college, he worked for a small engineering company for seven months and then attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) and The Basic School (TBS). After completing TBS, he received orders to Camp Lejeune, NC. His next duty station was back home to Beaufort during the summer of 2018, where he is currently serving as a Captain at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Luke continues to enjoy sports as he loves wrestling and weightlifting. He is currently taking classes online for a Master of Arts degree at Marshall University. His goals are to achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, become a Battalion Commander within his MOS, which is the Assault Amphibian Community (1803), and serve until retirement.

Ziaire O’Brien was born in Long Island, NY, and moved to Beaufort with his family in 2003. He attended Broad River Elementary School, Robert Smalls Middle School, and Battery Creek High School, where he graduated in 2010. Ziaire states that he was never into sports, though he tried his hand at basketball with PALS. He was not athletic in high school. His mother signed him up for JROTC under SgtMaj Reeves, GySgt Shannon, and LtCol Ganas. He states he disliked JROTC in his first year until he joined the drill team. This new experience unlocked something that allowed him to understand he desired to be a Marine. Ziaire participated in JROTC his entire high school years and worked his way up to the rank of Commander of the BCHS JROTC Drill team.

After graduating from BCHS in 2010, he attended The Citadel, where he was also a part of the drill team. Eventually, he earned the rank of Commanding Officer of the team and traveled to New Orleans to compete at the National Drill Competition. In addition, he was a member of the Gospel Choir and the African American Society. Ziaire states, “I remember having a 1.9 GPA while majoring in electrical engineering.” He then decided to switch his major to political science, worked diligently to bring his grades up, and received a contract to OCS the summer of his sophomore year. Ziaire met his Briana Sam online in 2016. After canceling their first date and never rescheduling, the two were brought together again while attending school in Virginia Beach. The couple has been together ever since. They married in March 2019 at The Citadel and are now expecting their first child. Ziaire’s hobbies include CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting.

The two Marines have shared quite a unique journey and have become the best of friends and brothers. As they reminisced about their time in Beaufort as teens, they didn’t realize they’ve been in the same town since elementary school. They’ve attended high school together – where they knew each other – but were not close friends. It was only when they met up at The Citadel that a special bond of brotherhood was forged. One knew he wanted to be a Marine in high school, while the other had a different goal, but fate would bring them together. The two graduated from The Citadel together and became roommates at their first duty station in Camp Lejeune, NC. Then, they received orders back to Beaufort MCRD as Captains at the age of 28. They realize they have a unique story, and they are happy to have each other to share it with. Both men stated, “We use each other as a measuring stick.” Luke emphasized that he looks up to Ziaire, personally and professionally. Ziaire also looks up to Luke. He states that he respects Luke’s drive to persevere and calls him a friend and a brother. “He pushes me to set goals physically; we balance each other.”

The two currently reside in Port Royal city limits, minutes from each other, and walking distance to be exact. They continue to enjoy spending time together. Even though they work in different job specialties, they both want to be able to serve the incoming recruits with their knowledge and support to assist them to be the best Marine. They are prepared for continued growth and a lifetime of experiences that they can share as brothers. Luke is looking forward to his niece’s birth and is excited about the next chapter in his life. The two friends have common goals to continue to serve and retire from the USMC.

It is beautiful to see these two men, who have known each other from childhood and have now grown to be as close as brothers. Their friendship and brotherhood prove that there are genuine people who desire real relationships. When they look at each other, they see their differences and depend on those differences to balance them as they support each other in all aspects of their lives.