Story by Alun Thomas
PHOENIX – The harsh realities of urban life were always on display for Marva Burns and her son Marquis Butts during their time living in Chicago.Burns yearned to move away from the cold, bleak, crime-ridden streets and in 2017 she and her son took the headlong leap and moved to Phoenix, searching for a new beginning.Two years later they both found one in a way they never expected – by enlisting in the U.S. Army simultaneously.Both Burns and Butts stood together – mother and son, side-by-side – as they swore in at the Phoenix Military Entrance Processing Station, Oct. 8, preparing to take the biggest adventure of their lives.Burns, 38, said her decision to move to Phoenix was one she felt necessary for her and Butts, in order to make better lives for the pair.
