This past fall, during a particularly challenging time in Catherine Martinelli’s life, her friend and fellow Marine Soledad Jackson was there to help. Of course, it should not have come as a surprise for Martinelli, because two decades earlier, she did the exact same thing for Jackson.

“She's my Marine sister for the rest of my life. Even if I don't talk to her for five years, I know that she's always there,” Jackson said.

Martinelli and Jackson met in the late 1980s at Camp Pendleton, back when being a woman in the Corps was still a rarity.

“I think when Sole and I were in, there was like 6% women in the Marine Corps, so not very many at all,” Martinelli said.

The two bonded instantly. Though Martinelli moved on after four years, Jackson made the Marines her career. The two didn’t sta

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