A soldier who is Native American was blessed with sacred tobacco and fanned with his veteran grandfather's eagle feather by friends and family at his tapping-out ceremony. Marcos Davis Reyes, 21, a private in the United States Army, received the gesture when he graduated on June 5, at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. He was motivated to join the Army by his veteran grandfather, who Marcos was very close to before he passed, and his family members thought serving the country was an extremely honorable thing to do. And so, on the day of his graduation, Marcos’ mother, stepfather, brothers, cousins and family friends showed up for his tapping out ceremony. Rather than have everyone rush to tap Marcos out, though, the group stood near him and handed out sacred tobacco, which is used by many Native American groups in ceremonies, prayers and healing as a way to connect with ancestors. Each person walked past Marcos and offered their blessings, while he was fanned with his late grandfather's eagle feather fan. Then, Marcos' mom, Keeley, proudly stepped forward to tap out her son, who was visibly touched by the gesture. The moment was captured on video by a family friend, Sophina Calderon, who has known Marcos since childhood – and when Sophina later shared the video online, it went viral with millions of views.
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