He was 18 years old, homeless and living in the woods when a South Carolina deputy arrested Brian Gilbert for stealing food from a supermarket deli.
Gilbert said he didn't have a direction in life, missing more school than he attended and sleeping in a tent behind a shopping center in the Midlands region.
A night in jail eventually turned his life around.
Lexington County Deputy John Sanders booked Gilbert into jail but couldn't let the encounter end there.
"His biggest need was that he was struggling to get some food, and he didn’t have a job to bring in any income," Sanders recalled later in a video shared by the sheriff's office Friday to honor all three men heading into Veterans Day weekend.
He reached out to the local Marine Corps recruiter, Sgt. Brent Latham, and asked what he could do.
HERO WHO TACKLED PENNSYLVANIA CHURCH GUNMAN BREAKS SILENCE: ‘MY PASTOR’S LIFE WAS IN DANGER'
"Deputy Sanders gave me a call. ‘Hey man, there’s a kid who’s in a bad situation. I want to know if you can help him,’" Sgt. Latham said. "I had a description of what this young man apparently looked like. I rolled the window down and said, ‘Hey, are you Brian?’ He said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I told him to get in."
"He brought up the Marines," Gilbert said. "And I was like, ‘Let’s just go for it.’ I met with the recruiter … and signed the papers. I mean, this is way better off than I thought I would be."
Sanders, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, said the solution was a no-brainer.
"From my experience with the military, you're fed. You get a place to sleep. And you get paid for it," he said.
Gilbert completed basic training at Parris Island and graduated in May, and both Sanders and Latham were there to cheer him on.
MARINE VETERAN, IED SURVIVOR FORMS ROCK BAND TO PERFORM FOR PATRIOTS AROUND AMERICA
Now stationed at Camp Lejeune, he says he is still in regular contact with Deputy Sanders.
"I talk to him all the time," Gilbert said. "He’s a great person to go to. I can talk to him about anything, and he’s always there to just listen."
The sheriff's office is calling Gilbert's case a "beautiful success story" that shows how authorities can make a positive difference in a young person's life.
"It took one phone call from a deputy to a Marine Corps recruiter to get someone from a terrible situation in the woods to a full career and a salary," Latham said. "One phone call can absolutely make a difference."
