Brother and sister march together as Marines
BY JAY M. GROSSMAN
STAFF WRITER


They're local kids from Bloomfield Township, a pair of graduates from Groves High School.

They're brother and sister, only a few years apart in age.

David and Jessica McHann share something else in common: They both joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

"It's really kind of surprising," Jim McHann said about his two children and their decision to enlist. "I was never in the military. I didn't grow up with them talking about it.

"But as a family we tried to raise them with a deep sense of integrity, a deep sense of honor and a deep sense of gratitude. We always tried to follow those guiding stars."

This is a story about family.

It's about a young man who felt an obligation to serve his country, and a proud sister who decided to follow in her brother's footsteps.

A member of Weapons Company with the 1/24 First Reserve Battalion out of Michigan, David McHann, 27, spent the past seven months patrolling the streets of Fallujah.

From intense ambushes to roadside bomb explosions, each day was truly an adventure.

"You knew it could happen at any point and time ... and it did," David McHann said about the insurgent attacks. "It didn't happen often. We would go through cycles where nothing happened -- then a week or two where everything went on."

Jim McHann, a professor of strategy and change management at Walsh College in Troy, wasn't completely surprised when his son announced his plans to enlist in March '04. He realized his son viewed the war in Iraq as "his generation's battle of the day."

His reaction was quite different when his daughter decided to do the same.

"She came up to me one day and said, 'Dad, what would you think if I joined the Marines, too?' I just about fell off my chair.

"To me, it was like two universes that weren't supposed to meet, my daughter and the U.S. Marine Corps."

AN OFFICER IN THE FAMILY

Those galaxies will collide in June when Jessica McHann, 23, enrolls in Officer Candidates School at the U.S. Marine base in Quantico.

"Honestly, I never would have given it a thought had David not joined. I thought my brother was respectful and disciplined even before he came in ... but he's become a much stronger person physically and mentally as well."

She saw her older brother grow as a person while serving his country with commitment and pride.

Jessica McHann wants to do the same.

"I'm not a feminist," she said. "I'm not trying to be a G.I. Jane by any means ... but I know there's things I can do in the Marine Corps to help them do a better job in the field."

Ten weeks of boot camp and nine months of training will follow OCS. After that, she'll finish her college degree in communications and receive her commission as a second lieutenant.

Over the next four years she'll work in public affairs for the Marines and, in all likelihood, not see combat. Knowing that has given her parents some peace of mind.

Her brother, who signed up with the infantry, returned to Michigan with the smell of gunpowder on his hands.

His mission was to continue stabilizing the region until the Iraqi Army could take over. That meant controlling major entry points into the city, and constant patrols in hostile areas where enemy fire was all too common.

"They were patrolling by day and kicking in doors at night ... they were literally wrestling hand-to-hand with the enemy," said Jim McHann, still trying to catch his breath from his son's tour of duty in Fallujah.

The numbers tell the story: Out of a 1,000 fellow Marines serving with David McHann in the 1/24 Battalion, 22 men were killed; 45 were seriously or permanently, and another 200 were wounded.

That means nearly 30 percent of his group walked away with scars -- or didn't walk away at all.

Integrity, honor and gratitude. David McHann followed those guiding stars each night in Fallujah. He knows his sister will use the same map to navigate her way.

"She made the decision a month or two ago. I kind of have mixed feelings about her joining the Marines, but I think it's going to be good for her in the long run ... now if she was my little brother and she was joining the infantry, I'd be a little more apprehensive then.

"The truth is, I'm really proud of her. I know she's going to do a great job."

Ellie