Tuesday December 25, 2007
Holidays reunite family bound by call of duty
Port Crane brother, sister find strength in Marines

By Connie McKinney
Press & Sun-Bulletin

PORT CRANE -- Barry and Mary Oliver of Port Crane will receive a precious gift today: being able to spend the holiday with their son and daughter, who are both Marines.

Pvt. Tiffany Oliver, 18, just graduated from basic training at the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C., on Friday. Her 22-year-old brother, Daniel, a Marine corporal, is a veteran of two tours in Iraq and is scheduled to return there in February.

"To have them both home this Christmas -- knowing that Dan is headed back to Iraq -- is unbelievable," Barry Oliver said. "We're grateful that we have them both together and home."

On Monday, the family took part in their Christmas Eve ritual of choosing and chopping down a Christmas tree at a small farm near their home. They opened one gift, another family tradition.

Today, they'll celebrate Christmas the way most families do -- around the tree to open gifts and then enjoy a turkey dinner.

Tiffany and Daniel Oliver may not be home next Christmas, depending on where the Marine Corps sends them. But neither regrets their decision to join the military.

"I thought it would make me a better person," Daniel Oliver said. "I just wanted to get away from New York and try to see the world."

He enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Chenango Forks High School in 2004. He worked as a mechanic during his first tour of duty in Iraq from February through August 2006. After a short leave, he returned to Iraq in September 2006 and left this past March. A newlywed, he and his wife, Katherine, got married in September.

During his second trip to Iraq, he was assigned to provide security for convoys bringing supplies to the town of Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad.

"It's stressful at times," he said.

Iraqis are family-oriented people and religious, he said. Every day, he heard Muslim prayers broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the town.

Being in a combat zone doesn't scare him, he said. He relies on his brother Marines to watch out for him.

"They have my back, and I have theirs," he said. "I trust them with my life."

Still, he worries about his sister being sent to Iraq, which could happen sometime next year. But Tiffany Oliver said she's not worried about going to Iraq.

"I'm not afraid to go," she said. "It's what I have to do."

Daniel Oliver is pleased to see his younger sister following in his footsteps.

Tiffany Oliver said she was inspired to join the Marines by seeing the changes in her brother after he returned home from Parris Island in December 2004.

"He had a sense of pride, a sense of confidence you can't get without being a Marine," she said.

She joined the Marines after graduating from Chenango Forks High School last spring.

Now, she feels closer to her older brother. They hope to spend time together during their breaks from serving.

Both brother and sister say they plan on staying with the Marines at least for the near future. Daniel Oliver just signed up for another four-year stint.

"Joining the corps gives you stability, support, discipline, patience," Tiffany Oliver said. "It gives you everything you need to become a better person."

Ellie