Kelsey De Santis and Justin Timberlake at the Marine Corps Ball
Posted on 11/14/2011 11:17:30 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Popstar Justin Timberlake was largely the reason actress Mila Kunis accepted an invitation to attend an upcoming Marine Corps Ball — but Cpl. Kelsey DeSantis was the reason Timberlake found himself moved almost to tears at a similar event Saturday night, a night the celebrity writes “changed [his] life.”
After Timberlake publicly urged his Friends with Benefits costar Kunis to say “yes” to the request she received from a serviceman, DeSantis invited Timberlake — via YouTube — to the Nov. 12 Instructor Battalion Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Va.
“You want to call out my girl Mila?” De Santis asked in a video. “Well, I’m going to call you out and ask you to come to the Marine Corps ball with me on Nov. 12.”
Timberlake accepted and, Saturday night, he kept his promise.
“I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn’t forget… Something I could tell my friends about,” Timberlake wrote the next day. “What I didn’t know was how moved I would be by the whole experience.”
The GQ favorite has always been a vocal supporter of the armed forces — but his glimpse into the camaraderie and closeness of the Marine Corps taught him he’ll never fully understand just what men and women in uniform endure for us — and also that he can never appreciate them enough.
A video tribute to the Marines particularly took Timberlake by surprise:
While this tribute was playing, you could hear a pin drop. It was a surreal moment to be in that room with so many of our great Marines who have such a different type of connection to those stories. One that we who don’t serve will NEVER understand. It was familial. It was like they were listening to their own blood brothers. I glanced around the room at young men and women, spouses and soldiers… At kids way beyond their years, really… All so deeply entwined. Not just by battle, even though we who have never endured anything remotely close to those experiences and have NO position to comment on… But, by having such life changing experiences through them and to not ever waver in their love and respect for our homeland. That’s what I saw. A faith in us that has been tested time and time again. And, through it all, NEVER a drop of doubt. …
The night inspired Timberlake to call on his family, friends and fans to separate their views of war from support for the troops and to intentionally thank those who serve the cause of freedom worldwide.
We all have our own individual views on war… But, doesn’t that speak to just another thing that makes this country so special?? The fact that we can all wake up every morning and BE individual with a pure sense of freedom..? But, one thing that can’t be argued is that it’s because of the people who VOLUNTEER their lives to make sure that it’s protected at all times. And, like I said before, doing so while asking for nothing in return…
To people like me who get to benefit from this type of person… One with character and courage. With strength and bravery. With humility and honor… I say: Send your thanks. Do it however you can. Write a letter, type an email… Hell, buy ‘em a beer next time you run into someone from our Armed Forces in a bar. When they say thank you for that drink that cost you 3 bucks, they’ll mean it. They won’t take it for granted and, they won’t forget it.
This phenomenon of inviting celebrities to personally experience some element of American life they wouldn’t otherwise encounter — whether a Marine Corps Ball or a Tea Party rally — seems a healthy development to me, a way of bridging the disconnect. Reading Timberlake’s reaction to this weekend’s event really makes me hope it continues.
More here:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674295/justin-timberlake-marine-corps-ball.jhtml
______________________
Back in July, Justin Timberlake was invited to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Richmond, Virginia, by Corporal Kelsey de Santis. The whole invitation went down shortly after his “Friends With Benefits” co-star Mila Kunis had been invited on a date by a marine of her own.
Timberlake, being a man of his word, kept his date with Corporal De Santis and hit up the ball with his Cinderella on Saturday night at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
“I was truly moved,” Hollywood’s very own Prince Charming wrote on his blog about joining the 23-year-old at the party. “I felt so proud to be there. I felt like I was getting a chance to be among my heroes. It’s funny too, because a lot of them are SO much younger than me.”
Timberlake went on to explain that De Santis was a very attentive date. “She seemed to me to be so humble and honest ... very cool,” Timberlake continued. “She simultaneously seemed like she was nervous about the whole evening and if I was going to enjoy myself. ‘Are you ok?’ she asked 2 or 3 times. ‘I hope you are having fun. I know you will once my crew of friends get here to the table.’ I have to tell you, it’s not every day that I meet a 23-year-old girl and she’s more worried about if I’m having fun or if I’m comfortable.”
The singer/actor walked away from the event with a new respect for the U.S. military. “It hit me all of a sudden that these were the type of people that look after us and our freedom,” he wrote. “Humble, concerned for others before themselves ... this was the type of person our Marine Corps was building. I was really blown away.”
As for Kunis’ obligation, she’ll join her marine date, Sergeant Scott Moore, at a Greenville, North Carolina-area ball on November 18, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Maybe he’s grown up since the “wardrobe malfunction” with Janet Jackson.
Maybe he will be moved enough to TRY and earn the right to wear the uniform of a United States Marine....but I doubt it.
Semper Fi
That’s one damn fine looking Marine there. But then again, they’re all damn fine people. And good for Timberlake for going and opening his eyes.
Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.
- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985
Good for him. And Mila’s hot.
“No $hit Sherlock ... since 1775 ... you ungrateful turd.”
I’m willing to give him and most other young people a break. Let’s face it - they’ve gone through at least 12 years of schooling in a system that is largely an anti-American, liberal infested, God-hating mess. Most of what they have seen in pop culture is pure American hating BS. Most young people have been spoon fed nothing but lies and nonsense by their “betters” for most of their lives. For every kid that grew up in a household with a Dad that made sure they knew the truth, there are at least 10 more than have never heard nothing but liberal BS.
This just sounds to me like a young person finally finding out the truth and realizing that most everything they’d ever been told was wrong.
Unfortunately Mila is an Obama-worshipping ditz.
“Humble, concerned for others before themselves ... this was the type of person our Marine Corps was building. I was really blown away.”
It sounds like this guy always liked the military. And that what surprised him was their humility and concern for others. Most movies/ shows only show the gung-ho bad-ass side of the Marines I think, and probably where most of us get our ideas of them from. What is the saying for the Marines “No better friend, no worse enemy” I think? He only ever saw the ‘worse enemy’ part probably.
Mildly interesting, but I have no clue who this dork is.......
Good for them both. Not everyone in the entertainment industry is brain dead. I admire hime for doing this, I hope they both had a great time.
If you saw her ‘brothers’ in the original video, you know Justin must have been on his best behavior ;-)
The man you're insulting wrote this:
We all have our own individual views on war… But, doesn’t that speak to just another thing that makes this country so special?? The fact that we can all wake up every morning and BE individual with a pure sense of freedom..? But, one thing that can’t be argued is that it’s because of the people who VOLUNTEER their lives to make sure that it’s protected at all times. And, like I said before, doing so while asking for nothing in return…
To people like me who get to benefit from this type of person… One with character and courage. With strength and bravery. With humility and honor… I say: Send your thanks. Do it however you can. Write a letter, type an email… Hell, buy ‘em a beer next time you run into someone from our Armed Forces in a bar. When they say thank you for that drink that cost you 3 bucks, they’ll mean it. They won’t take it for granted and, they won’t forget it.
Your snide insult does honour neither to you, nor to the United States Marine Corps.
You owe him an apology.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. He's grown up in the entertainment industry and probably never really understood what it meant to serve. Now that he's seen it first hand, he's moved and wrote a heart-felt tribute to the Marines. We need more people like him.
I think that reply is a bit harsh.
Yeah, that’s right clown. You owe a big apology.
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