DeShone Thomas

CEO and co-owner of Black Star Security.

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// My life decisions have always been questionable

Much like NYE in 2018 😳

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

// my point exactly

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// …

Glizzard

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

// I have zero sympathy for your poor choices 😂😂

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// I took one for the team and re-watched it after a few shots of JD…

IT DID NOT HELP!

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

// how can I forget??

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// Remember that Great Discovery video I sent a couple months ago?

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

// have you? 😂😂

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// Hey, you gotta admit, I’ve eased off the batshit insane stuff 🤣

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

// I swear if you could you'd do it every day

[Anika “Ani” Cavendish @Anika_Cavendish]

// Here’s me corrupting @DeShoneThomas’s YouTube algorithm

Again

🤣

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

And if you want to know what I remember most about that day?
It isn't the bullets.
It isn't the blood.
It isn't the pain.
It's somebody telling me to stay awake.
And me deciding that I wasn't finished yet.
I survived.
I got back on my feet.
And I'm still here.

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

I still wake up every morning with the same philosophy I've carried since becoming a Marine.
Protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Never abandon your team.
Always finish the mission.
Those words mean more to me now than they ever did before April 15th.

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of that.
Because I wasn't saved so I could simply exist.
I was saved because people believed my life mattered.
Because they refused to leave me behind.
Because somebody looked at me and said:
"Stay with me, Gunny."

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

I still protect people.
I still train.
I still lead.
The uniform changed.
The mission didn't.
What I'd learned in the Marine Corps didn't disappear when I left.
It simply found a different place to be used.
I finally understood that protecting people wasn't something the military had given me.
It was part of who I was.

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

I don't talk about April 15th very often.
Not because I can't remember it.
That's the problem.
I remember every second.
People ask what happened when they see the limp or scars. Usually, I give them the short version.
"I got shot. Nearly died. Eventually got medically retired."
That's enough for most people.

[DeShone Thomas @DeShoneThomas]

Danny helped me understand that.
He reminded me that I'd spent my entire adult life protecting people.
That didn't have to end simply because I wasn't wearing a Marine uniform anymore.
It took time for me to believe him.
Eventually, I did.
And that's where Black Star Security began.