thedrifter
05-07-07, 07:04 AM
Two Iraq-veteran Marines take wife, fiancée to prom
ENGLEWOOD -- This year's prom trend for men was tuxedos with thin pant legs and ties.
But Joshua Carmel's outfit was a classic. And it could not be bought, rented or tailored.
It had to be earned.
Carmel, 20, escorted his wife, Mary, 18, to Lemon Bay High School's prom April 28 at Boca Grande Beach Club in his U.S. Marine Corps' dress blues -- replete with National Defense, Overseas Service, Global War on Terrorism, and Iraqi Campaign ribbons.
"I didn't go to mine," he said, "but she deserved to go to hers."
"Everybody was looking at us," Mary said. "He really liked it because he was recognized by everyone for what he is."
Which is what he's always wanted to be.
"All I ever wanted to do was be a Marine," Carmel said. "I joined when I was 17 -- my mother had to sign for me."
But Carmel, a lance corporal with the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, wasn't the only Marine at this prom.
Pfc. Dana Johnston, 20, with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, also escorted his fiancée, Janet Moke.
Mary and Janet are twin sisters. Carmel and Johnston are longtime friends who joined the Marines within weeks of their 2005 Lemon Bay graduation.
Both traveled from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to take Mary and Janet to the prom. Johnston returned shortly after; Carmel goes back May 12.
Johnston will be back for Janet's May 18 graduation. The next day, they'll get married.
Shortly after, the two couples will be living in Jacksonville, N.C., outside Camp Lejeune.
"We're all moving up there together," Janet said.
And then Mary and Janet will see their husbands' ship off to Iraq -- again.
Johnston got back in February from Al Anbar province. Carmel returned from Camp Fallujah in April.
Johnston will be deployed in November to Iraq; Carmel in October 2008.
'Over there'
Carmel drives Humvees and armored troop and cargo carriers for Echo Battery of the 2/10 Marines, an artillery unit that was in Camp Fallujah September to April.
"Living quarters are not that bad, but we always had to walk around with our weapons," he said. "You never knew when something would go down."
Life in Camp Fallujah, the primary base for the 25,000 Marines in Iraq, was a series of "missions," he said.
"They could last 20 to 30 minutes or three, four days and involve 30-plus hours on the road," Carmel said.
The most dangerous place in Iraq is "on the road" -- up to 60 percent of coalition casualties are from roadside explosives.
"Driving down the road, you don't know if that's the last day you are going to breathe," Carmel said, noting a fellow driver in his unit was killed by a shrapnel in the neck.
"When you are driving down that road, you don't realize how good your senses can be," he said. "As a driver, your hearing, your eyesight, are really keen. You are always looking.
"As a gunner, you're constantly on the swivel -- back and forth -- looking for the littlest things," Carmel continued. "We were so alert, something that was out of place, your senses really kick in."
While her husband was in Iraq, Mary focused on studies to graduate.
"It was difficult but, you know, I try not to think of him being over there, but of him just being away," she said. "I try to stay busy."
The couple were married in December 2005 -- when Mary was a sophomore. They have an 18-month-old daughter.
Fellow students could not relate to her as the wife of a Marine in combat, Mary said.
"I don't tell other students," she said. "They don't understand."
Except for her twin sister, Janet, who also worked through studies while shouldering a silent fear for Johnston, an infantryman.
During his June to February tour, 14 Marines in his battalion were killed in action.
"It's not the most comfortable feeling," Janet said, "but you learn to live with it."
Brave, new life
Mary and Janet will not be alone in Camp Lejeune. There are 47,000 Marines and sailors stationed on the 153,000 acre base.
Nearby Jacksonville is a "Marine town to the Corps."
"We'll get settled there and get back to the routine of being Marines," said Mary, who will enroll in vocational school.
Janet said she'll also take advantage of educational opportunities offered Marine dependents.
Leaving home for a new life with her new Marine husband makes her "nervous," she said, but also excited.
"I'm doing what I want to do," Janet said. "This is my life. I'm ready for it."
It would seem as if a prom would be trivial to a Marine combat veteran.
Not so, said Carmel.
"I didn't want Mary to miss it," he said.
Actually, Mary said, Carmel didn't volunteer. He was following orders.
"He went, basically, because I wanted him to go," she said. "He wasn't going to miss it -- not if he knew what was good for him."
You can e-mail John Haughey at jhaughey@sun-herald.com
By JOHN HAUGHEY
Staff Writer
Ellie
ENGLEWOOD -- This year's prom trend for men was tuxedos with thin pant legs and ties.
But Joshua Carmel's outfit was a classic. And it could not be bought, rented or tailored.
It had to be earned.
Carmel, 20, escorted his wife, Mary, 18, to Lemon Bay High School's prom April 28 at Boca Grande Beach Club in his U.S. Marine Corps' dress blues -- replete with National Defense, Overseas Service, Global War on Terrorism, and Iraqi Campaign ribbons.
"I didn't go to mine," he said, "but she deserved to go to hers."
"Everybody was looking at us," Mary said. "He really liked it because he was recognized by everyone for what he is."
Which is what he's always wanted to be.
"All I ever wanted to do was be a Marine," Carmel said. "I joined when I was 17 -- my mother had to sign for me."
But Carmel, a lance corporal with the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, wasn't the only Marine at this prom.
Pfc. Dana Johnston, 20, with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, also escorted his fiancée, Janet Moke.
Mary and Janet are twin sisters. Carmel and Johnston are longtime friends who joined the Marines within weeks of their 2005 Lemon Bay graduation.
Both traveled from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to take Mary and Janet to the prom. Johnston returned shortly after; Carmel goes back May 12.
Johnston will be back for Janet's May 18 graduation. The next day, they'll get married.
Shortly after, the two couples will be living in Jacksonville, N.C., outside Camp Lejeune.
"We're all moving up there together," Janet said.
And then Mary and Janet will see their husbands' ship off to Iraq -- again.
Johnston got back in February from Al Anbar province. Carmel returned from Camp Fallujah in April.
Johnston will be deployed in November to Iraq; Carmel in October 2008.
'Over there'
Carmel drives Humvees and armored troop and cargo carriers for Echo Battery of the 2/10 Marines, an artillery unit that was in Camp Fallujah September to April.
"Living quarters are not that bad, but we always had to walk around with our weapons," he said. "You never knew when something would go down."
Life in Camp Fallujah, the primary base for the 25,000 Marines in Iraq, was a series of "missions," he said.
"They could last 20 to 30 minutes or three, four days and involve 30-plus hours on the road," Carmel said.
The most dangerous place in Iraq is "on the road" -- up to 60 percent of coalition casualties are from roadside explosives.
"Driving down the road, you don't know if that's the last day you are going to breathe," Carmel said, noting a fellow driver in his unit was killed by a shrapnel in the neck.
"When you are driving down that road, you don't realize how good your senses can be," he said. "As a driver, your hearing, your eyesight, are really keen. You are always looking.
"As a gunner, you're constantly on the swivel -- back and forth -- looking for the littlest things," Carmel continued. "We were so alert, something that was out of place, your senses really kick in."
While her husband was in Iraq, Mary focused on studies to graduate.
"It was difficult but, you know, I try not to think of him being over there, but of him just being away," she said. "I try to stay busy."
The couple were married in December 2005 -- when Mary was a sophomore. They have an 18-month-old daughter.
Fellow students could not relate to her as the wife of a Marine in combat, Mary said.
"I don't tell other students," she said. "They don't understand."
Except for her twin sister, Janet, who also worked through studies while shouldering a silent fear for Johnston, an infantryman.
During his June to February tour, 14 Marines in his battalion were killed in action.
"It's not the most comfortable feeling," Janet said, "but you learn to live with it."
Brave, new life
Mary and Janet will not be alone in Camp Lejeune. There are 47,000 Marines and sailors stationed on the 153,000 acre base.
Nearby Jacksonville is a "Marine town to the Corps."
"We'll get settled there and get back to the routine of being Marines," said Mary, who will enroll in vocational school.
Janet said she'll also take advantage of educational opportunities offered Marine dependents.
Leaving home for a new life with her new Marine husband makes her "nervous," she said, but also excited.
"I'm doing what I want to do," Janet said. "This is my life. I'm ready for it."
It would seem as if a prom would be trivial to a Marine combat veteran.
Not so, said Carmel.
"I didn't want Mary to miss it," he said.
Actually, Mary said, Carmel didn't volunteer. He was following orders.
"He went, basically, because I wanted him to go," she said. "He wasn't going to miss it -- not if he knew what was good for him."
You can e-mail John Haughey at jhaughey@sun-herald.com
By JOHN HAUGHEY
Staff Writer
Ellie