Today is Flag Day, the day the nation honors the Stars and Stripes; it’s also a day for Delores Coomes of Vicksburg to honor three of her grandsons who are brothers and all Marines.

“I’m very proud of them serving their country. I think they all have good hearts. Of course, grandmas are prejudice.”

The three are sons of Coomes’ third son, Robert Coomes, of Aiken, S.C., who along with his 10 sisters and brothers, was reared in Vicksburg by parents Delores and the late Billy Coomes.

Sgt. Jamie Coomes, 28, is in pre-deployment training in California, getting ready to head out on his second 400-day tour for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I don’t believe in wars,” his grandmother said, “but I’m proud of Jamie for going to Iraq.”

The second oldest and newest member of the Marine Corps brothers, Pfc. Justin Coomes, 27, has just completed Marine Corps Boot Camp at the Parris Island Recruit Training Depot in Parris Island, S.C. Now he’s at the School of Infantry in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The youngest of the three Marine Coomeses is 18-year-old Austin, who has been in the Marine Corps Reserve for more than a year and completed military occupational school a few months ago at Camp Lejeune. He is serving with the Motor Transport Battalion in Augusta, Ga.

“You don’t get a report card until they grow up. Now, they’re serving their community,” said Robert Coomes, 53, a retiree of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken. He moved to Aiken 27 years ago with his then-wife, Deborah of 23 years, and their four sons and a daughter.

Robert Coomes said he put together memorabilia of Jamie’s first tour, in 2002, that told of his son’s being an expert sniper and his receiving the Marine of the Year Award in 2002.

The glory sparked interest from Austin, and Austin’s graduation in 2008 “was the last little push that Justin needed to join,” Delores Coomes said. “He couldn’t let his little brother out-do him.”

Now John Coomes, brother No. 4, is in the wings and “has expressed his interest to join over the past several years and will probably accept the challenge,” Sgt. Jamie Coomes said.

The 22-year-old John said he expects to go through his recruitment training next month. “I’m the last one to go. I can’t let my brothers have all the fun,” he said.

John Coomes said brother Jamie’s excitement about the military influenced the brothers to join the Marines.

“There’s more pride in being a Marine,” he said. “Marines are the first ones in and the last ones out.”

He pointed out that Jamie and Justin are landing support specialists who “drop out of helicopters. They are really the first ones there.”

Today, Flag Day, John Coomes said, he hopes to have a cookout with his father and at least some of his brothers. His grandmother will be at home in Vicksburg with her pride, but she hopes to see all of her Marine grandsons before year’s end.

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Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com