thedrifter
04-10-03, 10:50 AM
Marine learns meaning of freedom
by Tom Farmer
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
Neil J. Dankievitch took freedom for granted until he saw Iraqi children begging for food and people trying to drink water from a filthy puddle as his Marine convoy traveled through Iraq.
``I appreciate the freedom we have so much more after what I've seen in the last day,'' the 25-year-old Fall River native wrote his fiancee, Daniela Marascio, in a March 27 letter.
``I can't believe what one man, Saddam, did to this country.''
Dankievitch, a corporal in the Marine Reserves assigned to the 6th Motor Transportation Battalion based in Providence, was activated and sent to Iraq before his older brother, John, a member of the 772nd Military Police Company based in Taunton, returned from his deployment to Afghanistan.
Their mother, Vanessa Braga, said her two oldest boys hope to become state troopers.
They have two younger siblings, Katherine and Brian.
Neil Dankievitch went to Durfee High School where he captained the 1995 state champion baseball team and played football there and later at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
He received the Leatherneck Award for outstanding performance when he graduated from Marine boot camp at Parris Island, S.C.
``Neil is looking forward to coming home and marrying his fiancee,'' his mother said.
thedrifter
04-10-03, 10:51 AM
On eve of tragedy, a Marine joined up
by Tom Farmer
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Flying over Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 2001, on his way to Marine boot camp, Paul McIrney asked a friend about the odd-looking building below and was told it was the Pentagon.
``That same night when Paul arrived at Parris Island he was able to call home and say, `Mom, this is Paul. I am fine. I made it. This is the safest place in the world,' '' said McIrney's mother, Theresa.
The 20-year-old West Roxbury native is now in Iraq, and his family - although proud - fears for his safety.
``It is very hard for his mother and sisters to deal with this war. They fear for him and continue to pray and know he will come home safe,'' she said.
``They know Paul is trained to be a U.S. Marine and will do the best job he can. Paul has grown to be a wonderful man and a hero in the eyes of his mother and friends.''
Theresa McIrney said her son was so ``gung ho'' when he came home from boot camp he convinced two friends to join the Marines and they are also fighting in Iraq.
He has two sisters, Jennifer and Katelyn. He told them, ``I am not afraid. I have been trained for this and it is my job. I will be home soon.''
Theresa McIrney said she received an e-mail from her son Tuesday in which he said he was ``sitting around and doing nothing.'' His mother didn't buy it.
``He's lying,'' she said. ``He wants me to believe he's twiddling his thumbs but he's on the front lines and he doesn't want me to worry.''
thedrifter
04-10-03, 03:07 PM
Apr 10, 3:34 PM EDT
Marines Read of Friends, Love, Home
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Striding from truck to Humvee, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Johnson handed out armfuls of mail to jubilant Marines on Thursday, bringing many of them something they had coveted since the Iraq war started: word from home.
Others ran up to the 7th Marine mail clerk. "What about me?" they asked.
"He's the one who brings all the happiness to Marines," said Cpl. Gary Gillis, 29, of Corona, Calif. The radio operator received 20 letters after two Humvees rolled into Baghdad on Wednesday brimming with bulging orange mailbags.
"For a moment, you can stop thinking about what's going on here. You're transported back to your normal social life," he said, tearing open envelopes in the back of his Humvee.
As Marines pushed through the desert, going more than three weeks without showers, fresh food or booze, what many missed the most was news of loved ones.
Troops advanced so quickly that Marine support services battled to keep supplies coming to them - especially when almost all aircraft were grounded during a two-day sandstorm early in the offensive.
"It's been so long since I got mail (that) I'm writing to him," said Cpl. Barry O'Dell, 24, from Columbus, Ohio, motioning to his fellow radio operator as they shared prepackaged MRE rations atop their Humvee.
Until this week, all available truck space was taken up by food, water and ammunition, said Lt. Colleen Cauley of Combat Services Support Company 117. But now that Marines have converged on Baghdad, their mail is catching up with them.
Cauley, of Pottsville, Pa., received three cards herself Thursday - just in time for her 25th birthday.
"We haven't had mail in so long," she said, beaming.
On a Baghdad field next to Iraq's Interior Ministry, Johnson sorted through the letters in the back of a Humvee, dividing them into piles, then smaller piles, then handing them out. The envelopes from America came in all different colors, shapes, sizes. One Marine even got a letter from his dog - sealed with a paw print.
It was a soothing antidote to a busy day. Marines had gone through the entire ministry building, room by room, then turned jittery after a nearby munitions dump, aflame, began to explode and loudly shoot off ammunition.
So as jubilant Iraqis honked their horns and reveled in the fall of Baghdad, Marines held their own celebrations. They sat in groups next to their tanks, perched on furniture commandeered from nearby office buildings. Together they swapped pictures and news clippings sent by loved ones and read parts of their letters aloud.
When Derek Bedell of the 1st Combat Engineers didn't hear from his fiancee, he began to fear the worst. But on Thursday, he received four letters from her, all saying how much she missed him.
"I was getting all upset ... worrying about if my girl was being faithful to me," said the 19-year-old from Baytown, Texas. "So to finally get some letters was awesome."
So far, only letters have gotten through, leaving many Marines still awaiting care packages filled with precious goodies from home.
"It's going to be like Christmas when we get those," said Gunnery Sgt. John Scott, 33, of Carson, Calif., a 7th Marine logistics chief.
Sempers,
Roger