Florida woman enlists in Marines to finish what her fallen fiance started

Travis Nelson was just 19-years-old when he died serving his country as a Marine in Afghanistan. He was killed in action during his first tour, in fact he only had been deployed five weeks and now his fiancee Madeline Cates is joining the Marines to, as she says, “Finish it.”

Cates hails from Pace, FL and is set to begin training at Parris Island in March which was the same month that she was supposed to be marrying Travis.

Here is a news report filed by WFLX Fox 29:

A local park has been renamed in his honor and during that ceremony a family friend said of Travis that:

“If I had to describe him with a cartoon character, it would be a combination of the Tasmanian Devil and Pig Pen of Charlie Brown rolled into one,” she said as the crowd laughed with her. “He was always into something and so quick-witted and smart.”

As a Marine, Nelson was well aware of the danger he faced and he wrote the following letter to his loved ones in case something happened:

Dear friends and family,

If you are reading this, I didn’t come home. I love each and every one of you. I have no regrets; I died for a meaningful cause.

I am sure that the decision is extremely difficult for the family of Madeline and her mother, Gina Perry, expressed as much while still supporting her decision. She said:

‘[I thought] maybe it was just her reaching for some part of him that she missed so much. I so respect and honor her desire to want to honor him.”

Madeline added, “People always say, ‘Oh Travis wouldn’t want you to do this,’ but I know Travis better than everyone and I think that he’d be okay with it as long as it’s what I wanted to do.”

Madeline and Travis