thedrifter
06-22-09, 07:20 AM
Sis follows brother into the Marines
BY CATHY DYSON
As a child, Mallory McClelland considered herself a princess in her frilly dresses and matching hair bows.
She even prayed that one day she'd have long flowing hair like the Little Mermaid.
Mallory also had two older brothers who picked on her so much that she had no choice but to get tough.
When they looked for tadpoles, she stomped her pretty pink shoes in mudholes right along with them.
"I dressed up like a girl, but I could fight with them," she said about Thomas, 24, and Justin, 22. "They made me the way I am."
Mallory, 18, will take the toughness she learned from her brothers--and from playing field hockey at Stafford High School--into the military.
She's following Justin into the Marine Corps. He's a lance corporal who has done two tours in Iraq.
She has some big shoes to fill, literally.
She's 5-3, a foot shorter than Justin, but those who know her say she's just as spunky.
"I think the Marines are a good fit for Mallory," said Harry Mack, her guidance counselor at Stafford and a retired Marine. "She has an aggressive personality, which you probably noticed, and she's always been very active and passionate on the field hockey team.
"The Marine Corps gives her a positive place to expend some of that energy."
It also gives her the chance to get out of Dodge, even though her ticket takes her to boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., a swampland riddled with sand fleas and red ants.
"It's going to be amazing," Mallory said, her brown eyes glowing. "I'm just trying to get out of Stafford as fast as I can. I've never lived anywhere else."
Her parents, Melissa and Mark McClelland of White Oak, say they're proud of her, just as they were of Justin.
"The pride was overwhelming," Melissa said.
At first, Justin tried to talk Mallory out of joining the service. He has been in for 31/2 years as an infantryman. Although his sister and other females aren't able to go into combat as he did, Justin says there's a lot of stress--and work--being a Marine.
But then he realized there weren't many job opportunities for Mallory and other members of the Class of 2009. He didn't want her hanging around, getting into trouble.
"I was like, 'Go for it,'" Justin said during a phone interview from Camp Lejeune. "I still worry because I'm her big brother, but I think she'll be fine."
So does her Marine recruiter, Staff Sgt. Gerson Ruiz. He has watched her go through intense physical training, daily, to prepare for boot camp.
"She outruns a lot of the guys we work with. She's definitely going to be setting a good example for the females out there," he said. "She'll hang in there with the guys."
There's one thing Mallory won't take to boot camp: that glorious mane she prayed for as a child. Her red hair grew long and thick, and it has been awhile since she had it cut. She wants to get rid of it before she hits the heat of Parris Island, even though the Marines would have let her keep it long if it were tied up in a bun.
One of her last missions before she leaves home next week was to donate her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that provides wigs to children suffering from diseases that cause hair loss.
"I might as well put it to good use," she said.
Now she's set to follow her brother and get the same sparkle in her eyes she saw in his when he completed boot camp.
"I can't say that I'm not nervous, but I'm ready," Mallory said, determination in her voice. "I'm down for whatever."
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
Ellie
BY CATHY DYSON
As a child, Mallory McClelland considered herself a princess in her frilly dresses and matching hair bows.
She even prayed that one day she'd have long flowing hair like the Little Mermaid.
Mallory also had two older brothers who picked on her so much that she had no choice but to get tough.
When they looked for tadpoles, she stomped her pretty pink shoes in mudholes right along with them.
"I dressed up like a girl, but I could fight with them," she said about Thomas, 24, and Justin, 22. "They made me the way I am."
Mallory, 18, will take the toughness she learned from her brothers--and from playing field hockey at Stafford High School--into the military.
She's following Justin into the Marine Corps. He's a lance corporal who has done two tours in Iraq.
She has some big shoes to fill, literally.
She's 5-3, a foot shorter than Justin, but those who know her say she's just as spunky.
"I think the Marines are a good fit for Mallory," said Harry Mack, her guidance counselor at Stafford and a retired Marine. "She has an aggressive personality, which you probably noticed, and she's always been very active and passionate on the field hockey team.
"The Marine Corps gives her a positive place to expend some of that energy."
It also gives her the chance to get out of Dodge, even though her ticket takes her to boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., a swampland riddled with sand fleas and red ants.
"It's going to be amazing," Mallory said, her brown eyes glowing. "I'm just trying to get out of Stafford as fast as I can. I've never lived anywhere else."
Her parents, Melissa and Mark McClelland of White Oak, say they're proud of her, just as they were of Justin.
"The pride was overwhelming," Melissa said.
At first, Justin tried to talk Mallory out of joining the service. He has been in for 31/2 years as an infantryman. Although his sister and other females aren't able to go into combat as he did, Justin says there's a lot of stress--and work--being a Marine.
But then he realized there weren't many job opportunities for Mallory and other members of the Class of 2009. He didn't want her hanging around, getting into trouble.
"I was like, 'Go for it,'" Justin said during a phone interview from Camp Lejeune. "I still worry because I'm her big brother, but I think she'll be fine."
So does her Marine recruiter, Staff Sgt. Gerson Ruiz. He has watched her go through intense physical training, daily, to prepare for boot camp.
"She outruns a lot of the guys we work with. She's definitely going to be setting a good example for the females out there," he said. "She'll hang in there with the guys."
There's one thing Mallory won't take to boot camp: that glorious mane she prayed for as a child. Her red hair grew long and thick, and it has been awhile since she had it cut. She wants to get rid of it before she hits the heat of Parris Island, even though the Marines would have let her keep it long if it were tied up in a bun.
One of her last missions before she leaves home next week was to donate her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that provides wigs to children suffering from diseases that cause hair loss.
"I might as well put it to good use," she said.
Now she's set to follow her brother and get the same sparkle in her eyes she saw in his when he completed boot camp.
"I can't say that I'm not nervous, but I'm ready," Mallory said, determination in her voice. "I'm down for whatever."
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
Ellie