MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marines and sailors took time to accomplish a mission off the battlefield aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Sept. 18.
More than 130 service members aboard base attempted the largest squad pushup for the “Guinness World Records 2015.”
“Originally, I wanted to put together an attempt of my own in town,” said Cpl. Andrew Y. Zheng, a musician with the 2nd Marine Division Band. “But once I saw the overwhelming interest from my Marines, I brought the idea to the Single Marine Program, and we planned the event.”
The event coordinators and organizers were supportive of the proposal, said Michelle Dunkle, Single Marine Program activities programmer.
The record setting process began with researching the proposal, which took five months of planning.
“We hoped to instill high morale and build camaraderie within the Marines aboard base,” said Zheng. “We wanted to create a memorable event the Marines could be proud of and bring light to their time stationed here. Hopefully we keep creating activities like this for years to come.”
The service members lined up in a ‘U’ shape and placed their feet on the person behind them. Zheng called the commands to push up, then down over the loud speaker while Marines attempted the pushup.
Evidence of the attempt was submitted to the Guinness World Records headquarters for evaluation, and the results are expected to be released in six weeks.