thedrifter
12-08-06, 04:17 PM
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (Dec. 8, 2006) -- At only three years old, Pfc. Joseph Thomas, Platoon 2041, Company G, lost his father to natural causes. His mother was left to raise two boys and four girls on her own.
Until this tragedy, Thomas and his family lived well in a large house and never knew what it meant to need anything.
Less than a year later, in 1991, his situation took another turn for the worse, as rebels tore through his hometown of Sierra Leone, West Africa, in an attempt to overrun the government.
As houses were broken into and burnt to the ground, Thomas and his brothers and sisters, lay on the ground covering themselves with a mattress to shield their bodies from bombs and grenade fragments.
"The rebels went to different houses and broke in to take people," said Thomas. "They came to my house and they took me and my brother and sister."
When the rebels came to Thomas’ house his grandmother tried to fight them off, which resulted in her death. One of the attackers shot her in front of her grandchildren before leaving her to die.
Thomas said since he was four at the time and his brother was only a year older, the kidnappers realized there were only two options for these children at such a young age: kill them or release them.
Fortunately for Thomas, his kidnappers let he and his brother go unharmed. Unfortunately, they kept his 8-year-old sister, who is still missing.
As the war came to an end, the rebels succeeded in taking over the government and remained in power for the next two years.
During this period, Thomas lived with his aunt while his mother, an activist in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, went off to educate the women of Sierra Leone on the risks and wrongness of female circumcision.
When the old government came back into power, Thomas’ mother was arrested and jailed for her activism for three weeks before being released. She came to America on a ticket paid for by WILPF soon after being freed, leaving her children in Africa to live with their aunt.
She remained in the United States after being warned by Thomas’ aunt that there was a warrant for her arrest in Sierra Leone for the same crime she was released for a few weeks earlier.
In 1999, Thomas’ mother had earned enough money to bring Thomas and his brother to the U.S. to join her in Texas. His three sisters joined them a year later, and the six of them stayed in a one bedroom apartment.
Although they didn’t have the monetary issues in Africa they had in the U.S., Thomas said he was happy to come to America for the freedom he found in this country.
"Contrary to the statement ‘from rags to riches,’ we went from riches to rags," said Thomas. "We had everything in Sierra Leone and virtually nothing in America."
Thomas found he had an interest in law while in high school. In Dallas, he was active in competitions regarding issues on law and later went to study law for a year at the University of North Texas.
After hearing his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, Thomas returned from college to her home in Dallas.
Thomas said his mother worked two jobs, starting the first one at 8 a.m. and getting off at 5 p.m. That left her only one hour to come home and eat before starting her second job at 6 p.m. She would get off at 2 a.m. and repeat the process all over again after six hours of sleep.
Seeing his mother in that position inspired Thomas to join the Marine Corps in search of a better life for his mother because of the sacrifices she made for him.
"Every night she would come home crying, telling us how she was tired of living like that," said Thomas.
After telling his mother he wanted to join the military, Thomas said she was a little disgruntled about the whole concept of war after leaving a country that was constantly going through battle after battle.
Although the memories of people being amputated and kidnapped run through Thomas’ mind when he visualizes the war-torn country he left behind, he said he is not bothered by the fact that he may end up in a combat zone.
"I’ve already been through war," said Thomas. "I may not have had a gun to fight back with, but I’ve been through war."
Thomas graduates today as the platoon honorman for Platoon 2041, and dedicates his success to his mother, and his drill instructor Sgt. Antonio G. Deascanis, who he says motivated him as the first real male figure in his life.
"He is always telling me to move faster and work harder," Thomas said. "Just watching him and how much he sacrificed to make us Marines made me want to be a better Marine than what was expected of me."
Deascanis, a New Castle, Del. native, said he noticed early on that Thomas was motivated even when the drill instructors were not present. Deascanis saw that Thomas had a lot of energy and tried to emulate his style of making corrections within the platoon and drill.
These reasons, among others, led Deascanis to make Thomas the guide early on in the cycle, he said.
Keeping her promise, Thomas’ mother is attending her son’s graduation today as he enters the Marine Corps as a private first class.
Upon leaving the depot, he will take 10 days of well-earned leave before making his way to Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, Calif. From there, he will attend his military occupation specialty school, where he will study to become a legal administration clerk before entering the Fleet Marine Force.
Ellie
Until this tragedy, Thomas and his family lived well in a large house and never knew what it meant to need anything.
Less than a year later, in 1991, his situation took another turn for the worse, as rebels tore through his hometown of Sierra Leone, West Africa, in an attempt to overrun the government.
As houses were broken into and burnt to the ground, Thomas and his brothers and sisters, lay on the ground covering themselves with a mattress to shield their bodies from bombs and grenade fragments.
"The rebels went to different houses and broke in to take people," said Thomas. "They came to my house and they took me and my brother and sister."
When the rebels came to Thomas’ house his grandmother tried to fight them off, which resulted in her death. One of the attackers shot her in front of her grandchildren before leaving her to die.
Thomas said since he was four at the time and his brother was only a year older, the kidnappers realized there were only two options for these children at such a young age: kill them or release them.
Fortunately for Thomas, his kidnappers let he and his brother go unharmed. Unfortunately, they kept his 8-year-old sister, who is still missing.
As the war came to an end, the rebels succeeded in taking over the government and remained in power for the next two years.
During this period, Thomas lived with his aunt while his mother, an activist in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, went off to educate the women of Sierra Leone on the risks and wrongness of female circumcision.
When the old government came back into power, Thomas’ mother was arrested and jailed for her activism for three weeks before being released. She came to America on a ticket paid for by WILPF soon after being freed, leaving her children in Africa to live with their aunt.
She remained in the United States after being warned by Thomas’ aunt that there was a warrant for her arrest in Sierra Leone for the same crime she was released for a few weeks earlier.
In 1999, Thomas’ mother had earned enough money to bring Thomas and his brother to the U.S. to join her in Texas. His three sisters joined them a year later, and the six of them stayed in a one bedroom apartment.
Although they didn’t have the monetary issues in Africa they had in the U.S., Thomas said he was happy to come to America for the freedom he found in this country.
"Contrary to the statement ‘from rags to riches,’ we went from riches to rags," said Thomas. "We had everything in Sierra Leone and virtually nothing in America."
Thomas found he had an interest in law while in high school. In Dallas, he was active in competitions regarding issues on law and later went to study law for a year at the University of North Texas.
After hearing his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, Thomas returned from college to her home in Dallas.
Thomas said his mother worked two jobs, starting the first one at 8 a.m. and getting off at 5 p.m. That left her only one hour to come home and eat before starting her second job at 6 p.m. She would get off at 2 a.m. and repeat the process all over again after six hours of sleep.
Seeing his mother in that position inspired Thomas to join the Marine Corps in search of a better life for his mother because of the sacrifices she made for him.
"Every night she would come home crying, telling us how she was tired of living like that," said Thomas.
After telling his mother he wanted to join the military, Thomas said she was a little disgruntled about the whole concept of war after leaving a country that was constantly going through battle after battle.
Although the memories of people being amputated and kidnapped run through Thomas’ mind when he visualizes the war-torn country he left behind, he said he is not bothered by the fact that he may end up in a combat zone.
"I’ve already been through war," said Thomas. "I may not have had a gun to fight back with, but I’ve been through war."
Thomas graduates today as the platoon honorman for Platoon 2041, and dedicates his success to his mother, and his drill instructor Sgt. Antonio G. Deascanis, who he says motivated him as the first real male figure in his life.
"He is always telling me to move faster and work harder," Thomas said. "Just watching him and how much he sacrificed to make us Marines made me want to be a better Marine than what was expected of me."
Deascanis, a New Castle, Del. native, said he noticed early on that Thomas was motivated even when the drill instructors were not present. Deascanis saw that Thomas had a lot of energy and tried to emulate his style of making corrections within the platoon and drill.
These reasons, among others, led Deascanis to make Thomas the guide early on in the cycle, he said.
Keeping her promise, Thomas’ mother is attending her son’s graduation today as he enters the Marine Corps as a private first class.
Upon leaving the depot, he will take 10 days of well-earned leave before making his way to Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, Calif. From there, he will attend his military occupation specialty school, where he will study to become a legal administration clerk before entering the Fleet Marine Force.
Ellie