The music and celebration of the Dixon Petunia Festival still were buzzing when a young Elise Ulferts-Hume first felt a pull stronger than any summer memory – the call to serve her country.

“I was festival queen when I was 16, and we had an event at the courthouse downtown. They had a ceremony, and the flag was raised, and they said, ‘Anybody who is a veteran or is currently serving our country, please stand up.’ And I wanted to stand up so bad, but I couldn’t because I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to serve,” Ulferts-Hume said. “At that point, the VFW and the Marine Corps League did their rifle salute, and that was the moment when I knew I had to join the U.S. armed forces. I needed to do that for my country.”

Military service runs in Ulferts-Hume’s blood. Her brother and grandfather both served in the Army. That and the loss of her brother, killed in a motorcycle accident after returning from Afghanistan, cemented her resolve to serve.

“That really struck me as, ‘I’ve got to go. I’ve got to go carry the torch,’” Ulferts-Hume said. “Everyone asks me, ‘Why didn’t you go to the Army?’ But I got a different feeling when I thought about the Marine Corps. I wanted the challenge of going to boot camp. … I got bigger goosebumps when I thought about the Marine Corps versus any other branch. So, I followed my heart.”

Ulferts-Hume joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in April 2014 and served eight years, completing boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and subsequent combat and military occupational specialty training in North Carolina. She spent more than nine months deployed in the Middle East with the Marine Air Control Group 48 out of Great Lakes. There, she worked as an operations noncommissioned officer, coordinating training and logistics for Marines rotating through Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

She recounted a Marine whose wife was about to give birth to their first son while he was deployed in Afghanistan. Ulferts-Hume orchestrated efforts across multiple military branches to ensure he returned home in time. The U.S. Army sent the initial message, the Navy transported him to Qatar,and the U.S. Air Force flew him to the U.S.

“It was really cool because in only a few days, all four branches of the military came together for this man, and he got home for the day of his son’s birth,” Ulferts-Hume said. “It just shows the camaraderie and the collaboration that all of us had for one another. It was family, faith and the Corps all coming together, and I will never forget that day.”

Shortly after returning from her deployment, Ulferts-Hume volunteered for a two-month exercise in South Korea. She worked alongside the Korean armed forces in a large-scale, computer simulation-based command post exercise involving land, sea, air, cyber and space assets, designed to strengthen the allies’ ability to respond to a variety of security threats.

She also served in her unit’s S-1 administrative section, managing personnel tasks and active-duty orders while balancing her civilian career at the Dixon Correctional Center.

Ulferts-Hume has served as a member of the Dixon detachment of the Marine Corps League, which recently closed due to a lack of members. The League upholds Marine Corps traditions, supports Marines and their families, and assists Navy personnel who have served with Marine forces. She first got involved shortly after returning home from boot camp.

“I came home for the Fourth of July, and I told the League that I was going to be home,” Ulferts-Hume said. “I wasn’t in the League yet because I wasn’t done with all of my training. I was a Marine, but I wasn’t completely trained in my MLS yet, and I still had to go back to North Carolina for more training. But they asked me to lead the color guard in the Dixon Petunia Festival parade with them, and that’s when I got involved.”

She continued to participate in parades, military funerals and other activities until the detachment closed – services she now carries on through the Dixon American Legion. Ulferts-Hume recently joined the Legion and is already planning to get involved with color guard activities, including parades and veterans ceremonies.

“I just joined a couple of months ago, so I haven’t had a lot of opportunities yet,” Ulfers-Hume said. “I did participate in a color guard for a veteran’s funeral at Palmyra Cemetery, and I’ll be marching in parades for Memorial Day and standing with them for Veterans Day ceremonies. Since the Marine Corps League folded, this is my way to keep serving.”

Her enthusiasm for volunteering stands out, especially as she reflects on why so many American Legions struggle to attract younger members. She said the transition from active duty to civilian life can be challenging, with younger veterans often focused on starting families, building careers and finding their footing after military service.

Ulferts-Hume’s own path was different: Joining the Marine Corps at 27 as a reservist, already married and active in her community, she felt ready to contribute and stay engaged.

“I was like, ‘Heck yeah, I want to volunteer and help you out and stand proud for this,’“ Ulferts-Hume said. ”Unfortunately, I don’t think that a lot of other service members want to do that straight out of active duty.”

She encourages younger veterans to get involved at whatever level works for them.

“You can be as involved as you want to be,” Ulferts-Hume said. “I couldn’t go to any meetings because I didn’t have that time. So I did ceremonies and parades when I could. Sure, it wasn’t as much as I would have liked, but nobody can take that membership away from you.

“Just knowing you have that camaraderie at your fingertips, with others who have experienced what you have gone through or who are looking up to you as a role model, is invaluable.”

Outside of volunteering, Ulferts-Hume is a devoted wife and mother of two young children. She also has built a nine-year career at the Dixon Correctional Center, moving from correctional officer to the mail department.

Beneath everything she does is a deep devotion to honor and country, shaping every aspect of her life.

“I will never look at an American flag the same. The red, white and blue ... I would bleed for it,” Ulferts-Hume said. “When I hear the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ or the national anthem, my heart beats a little bit faster. It just means the world to me.”