Cpl. William Bonura, of North Brunswick, is featured in the foreground of an advertisement for the U.S. Marine Corps, which has been featured in fitness magazines. Cpl. William Bonura Jr. is among a group of Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines Weapons Company appearing in a magazine advertisement promoting the United States Marine Corps.
The ad prominently shows the township resident in the foreground among Marines advancing after they are deployed from an Osprey helicopter/plane.
The full-page ad, sponsored by the Marine Corps, has appeared in a number of magazines, including Men’s Fitness and Gameinformer.
“The picture for the ad was taken in October of 2010 with other Marines from my unit, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment. We had just returned home from our deployment, and our company was picked to have some of the Marines do the photo shoot for the ad. They were looking for combat veterans who recently returned from a deployment, to make the ad look as authentic as possible. We spent the whole day out at one of the landing zones at Camp Lejeune [North Carolina], working with the photographers as they took pictures of us patrolling and exiting the Osprey helicopter you see in the ad,” Bonura said.
Bonura enlisted in the Marines on April 28, 2009, and graduated from basic training at Parris Island, S.C., on July 24, 2009. He served as a platoon leader for the duration of his training. He was meritoriously promoted and was awarded Honor Marine at graduation, and his platoon was named the Honor Platoon.
He served in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010 from January toAugust, after President Barack Obama called for the increase of 35,000 troops.
He was promoted to the rank of corporal this past March and was then redeployed to the same area in Afghanistan in June.
“There has been major progress among the Afghan troops/local government — so much so, that we have been handing over control of areas to them. We conduct partnered patrols with them and have them lead the way,” he said.
Prior to being deployed, Bonura was one of four Marines chosen to represent the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment at the Memorial Day ceremony commemorating the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, which took place in Belleau, France. The ceremony was held at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, where 2,289 American servicemen are buried.
A 2005 graduate of North Brunswick Township High School, he is the son of North Brunswick Police Sgt. William Bonura Sr. and the late Maria Smith Bonura. He is expected to return to the United States after the holidays.
“I’m looking forward to my return home so I can spend some much-needed time with my family and friends, who are great supporters of what we do,” Bonura said.