By Gary Rice

“I was stunned and shocked! It was like my mind was in a different place! It was definitely a thrill!”

That’s how Jonathan Marion attempts to describe the way he felt when he achieved something every bowler dreams about, but few ever experience. He bowled a perfect game and became the youngest person ever to bowl a 300 at Carteret Lanes.

Marion is a Co-op Program machinist who currently works in the Machine Repair Shop at the NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point. In his job, he operates several different machines to re-work aircraft parts. As a Co-op employee, he will rotate through six depot shops, working from three to six months in each one, before completing the program.

“I like the job, and I’m really learning a lot,” Marion said. “This is a great place to work with a lot of great people.”

After graduating from high school, Marion enrolled at Craven County Community College as part of the Co-op Program. Before starting work at the depot, he worked part-time at his parents’ restaurant, the Broad Creek Restaurant on Highway 24. He is scheduled to graduate from college in May with an Associate’s Degree in Machine Tool Dye and Mold Making.

The Newport native enjoys hunting and fishing, but bowling is his main hobby. He is a newlywed, and he and his wife have a baby daughter. Now 20 years old, Marion has been working at the depot for two years.

NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point provides maintenance, engineering, and logistics support on a variety of aircraft, engines, and components for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. It is the only source of repair within the continental United States for many jet and rotary wing engines and is the Navy’s center of excellence for rotary wing aircraft.

“After my rotation is complete, I hope to get picked up in the four-year apprentice program,” he said. “And after that, I’d like to go on to the journeyman level.”

Marion has been bowling since he was 7 and has been a member of numerous bowling leagues. He joined an adult league when he was 13 because he wanted to be able to bowl with his parents. He is presently a member of the Thursday Extravaganza League at Carteret Lanes and was bowling with that league on March 20 when he scored his perfect game, something that rarely happens in bowling, even for the professionals.

“It really didn’t hit me until the 10th frame, when I realized that everyone was real quiet and watching me,” Marion said. “I was shaking so bad, I’ve never been so nervous in all my life. It was like a spotlight was on me, and the pressure was tremendous. It just takes one pin to ruin a perfect game, and I just knew I was going to leave that one pin. I just tried to concentrate, and somehow I pulled it off. I was so excited, I don’t even remember bowling that last ball.”

When Marion hit his final strike, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause, and everyone gathered round to hug and congratulate him. His previous high score was 277, and the most strikes he had bowled in a row before was seven. In recognition of his perfect game, Marion was presented with $300 cash from a sponsor, a silver ring from the American Bowling Congress, and a plaque from Carteret Lanes.

“My league will be bowling in a state tournament in June,” Marion said, “and it would be nice if I could do it again there. A perfect game is something you try for every time, but it’s really a dream come true when it happens!”

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts.

Photo Caption: In the Machine Repair Shop at the NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point, Machinist Co-op Jonathan Marion stands next to a surface grinder, one of the machines he operates in the shop. (Photo by Gary Rice)