SGT. Marc Carlo
U.S.M.C. – Motor Transport
6th Communications Battalion
Uganda, Mauritania, Djibouti, Helman Province, Afghanistan
Feb. 2006 – Jan. 2016
U.S.M.C. – Motor Transport
6th Communications Battalion
Uganda, Mauritania, Djibouti, Helman Province, Afghanistan
Feb. 2006 – Jan. 2016
“We survived some crazy stuff”.
Marc Carlo was born on April 4th, 1987 at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. Hell’s Kitchen was first settled by Irish immigrants and through the years a wave of Hispanic immigrants traded places with the Irish. Like many sections of New York City, Hell’s Kitchen has gone through periods of decay, decline and renewal. While Marc was growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, street smarts and luck played a big role in which direction your life took.
Marc has Italian and Puerto Rican heritage and was raised by a single mother, Lillian Colon, with the help of his grandmother Nereida. Marc watched his mother struggle to overcome the daily struggles of being a single mom. They lived in an apartment in a condemned building and other apartments with no electricity or heat. He knew he needed to carry his weight to lighten the load for his mother. “It flipped a switch in me. I need to help. I need to serve. I need to do something”. Marc made sure he could do his laundry and feed himself. “She did the best she could with what she had…anything I could do to make her life easier, I’m gonna do it”.
Marc has a half-brother Dylan who is ten years younger. The boy’s stepfather was physically abusive toward Lillian and the boys. That landed 12 year old Marc in the hospital before they could obtain a restraining order. A run in with the law put their stepfather in jail and the family was saved from that torment.
Marc attended PS 111 and recalled spending a lot of time on the playground in De Witt Clinton Park amidst the homeless and scatter drug syringes. The neighborhood kids went to the PAL and Hartley House to take advantage of after school programs. Marc recalled the adults in the neighborhood watching out of the neighborhood children.
On September 11th, 2001 Marc was a freshman at George Washington High School, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. That morning, he and his friends decided to cut school. When they showed up at school later that morning, they learned the World Trade Centers had been hit. The situation was chaotic as the faculty tried to reunite children with their parents. Marc remembered that there was fear in the air, and he couldn’t understand that there were people who hated the United States.
After graduation in 2005 Marc was unsure of his next steps in life. He attended college for a short time, but he quickly learned it wasn’t for him. Marc bumped into a friend from the neighborhood that had joined the Marine Corps. ‘You might want to think about joining the Marine Corps. It will help you process all of the anger that you have’. Marc talked with recruiters from the Marine Corps, the Army and the Air Force. Marc wasn’t looking to change the world. He thought, “I just want to serve. I want to do my part. I felt like we were wronged…I want to serve”. Marc enlisted in the Marine Corps. at the age of 19. His mother understood why he wanted to serve, but she was strongly against it.
Marc headed to Parris Island for a tough 13 weeks of basic training. The physical aspect of bootcamp was difficult but Marc felt the mental aspect was by far more difficult. “First phase they break you down. In phase 2 they build you in whatever image they want you and in phase 3 they want to see if everything they taught you, you are able to carry out and do”. Marc recalled one morning when one of the recruits didn’t shave. The Drill Instructor told him to get the biggest rock he could find and start shaving with it. At graduation Marc’s mother didn’t recognize him. “I went into boot camp at 225 lbs. and came out at 160 lbs”.
After a short visit home Marc headed to Camp Geiger for 6 weeks of Marine Combat Training (MCT). Unlike the other branches of the military, every Marine is trained as a rifleman first. In MCT they learned to shoot various weapons, how to patrol, Quick Reaction Force Training, live fire exercises. The Marines Corps make sure every Marine knows what to do in a combat situation. After MCT Marc headed to Advance Individual Training (AIT) at Camp LeJeune.
In AIT Marc learned to be an auto mechanic. The training was very detailed. After classroom training, they went into the shop and learned the practical application of the classroom training.
Marc felt very lucky to receive very good training every step of the way. “Staff Sgt. Santiago was our combat trainer, and he was in the push to Fallujah.” He also felt he had people watching out for him and giving him opportunities to prove himself. Marc continued to prove himself and was rewarded by being given leadership roles as squad leader and platoon leader. When Marc was promoted to Corporal, he was sent to the very challenging Marine Corps Marshall Arts Program where he rose to the level of black belt. “When you don’t you have any bullets what are you gonna do?” Marc proved to be a good rifleman and “I shot expert four times in a row with both my rifle and my pistol”. This earned him enrollment in the PMI (Primary Marksman Instructor) Instructor Course. He continued to add to his training with Combat Instructor Certification, Roadside Checkpoint Training and Tier One Training.
Tier One Training is a two-month Special Forces Training. The first month included combat maneuvers and shooting, room clearing, working with improvised explosives, defensive driving and breathing techniques. The second month focused on how to treat and dress combat wounds. It was an all-encompassing program to prepare a soldier to be down range and be prepared to handle whatever situation presents itself. “It was one of the best experiences in my entire military career. The feeling afterward of feeling invincible…there is nothing you can’t accomplish”.
Marc asked if he would like to volunteer for a deployment to Italy. He jumped at the chance but when he received his orders, he learned Sicily would be their home base. The rest of the time they would be on Train and Equip missions in various countries in Africa. They would spend a month in African country and then return to the U.S. base in Sicily for a week. His Tier I training would be invaluable on this deployment. For this deployment his motor transport unit was attached to 3rd Force Recon. Marc would be part of a 12-man team and be the mechanic. “I never touched a car the entire time I was there.”
In a Train and Equipment mission the U.S. would bring supplies and equipment, provide it to the local forces and teach them how to use the equipment to defend themselves. Marc said the missions in Africa were in some ways more difficult than the missions to Afghanistan which would follow the Africa deployment.
Marc spent three weeks in Uganda. There they slowly changed the course of a river to create easier access for the villagers, established electricity in the villages and trained the local military forces. “When we left, they came in and slaughtered 90% of the villagers”.
3rd Force Recon went on to spend a month and a half in Siera Leone, three weeks in Djibouti and a month Mauritanian. Marc recalls going to sleep with his pistol under his pillow. Marc recalled the local people being very friendly. These were third world countries that did not have many of the conveniences we take for granted. Training the locals proved to be challenging. The Marines provided weapons to them and they did not appreciate the appropriate safety measures that needed to be taken.
On one mission the team broke up into two cars of six and headed off down backroads. A local national working for the U.S. was driving and noticed that they were being followed. The driver employed some aggressive driving in an attempt to evade the following vehicle, but on a sharp turn the van’s back wheels slipped on the wet dirt road and rolled off the side of the road and hit the only light pole for miles. Marc was thrown from his seat and struck his head rendering him unconscious. Marc tore fluid pockets in his knee, broke one rib and fracture another. He also had a concussion and a bulging disc. He remembers waking up in a third world hospital with considerable pain. Marc was administered some unregulated narcotics to relive the pain which worked like a charm. They spent the night and were flown out the next day to Djibouti, the only Africa country with an American military base. He was rushed to the emergency room for xrays, an MRI and treatment for his ribs and knee. The doctors suggested back surgery, but Marc declined and elected to rehab the injuries.
He went back to Sigonella, Sicily to work on his rehab for his back and knee. He returned to the U.S. in November of 2012 and learned he was headed for Helman Province in Afghanistan two months later. Prior to the deployment Marc was promoted to Sargeant.
In January of 2013 Marc and his fellow Marines departed the states from North Carolina and after a brief stop in Ireland they headed to a U.S. military base in Kyrgyzstan. They assembled and prepared their gear and then loaded it onto a C-130 for the final flight to Afghanistan. The troops tried to relax on the flight. Music and conversations filled the plane above the sound of the engines. When the green light in the cabin changed to red, indicating they had entered Afghanistan and unfriendly air space, reality set in. Marc recalled a distinct change in attitude when the light turned red. “I get goosebumps thinking about it again”. Everything went quiet and the Marines mentally prepared themselves for what awaited them.
Marc recalled landing at night and when the door opened being hit with oppressive hot air. As they departed the aircraft into the dark Afghanistan night, they were advised to move quickly to their tents for the night. They all understood this was not training. This was what they had trained for. The next day they headed to Marine base Camp Leatherneck in Helman Province. “It was kind of surreal, that hot air hits you. Training for the fight and being in the fight are two different things”.
They were issued 6 magazines with 30 rounds in each and were instructed to have a battle buddy at all times. Whenever they left the wire (leave the base) the Marines would rack their weapons. This put a round in the chamber and readied the weapon for a fire fight. The sound of the weapons being racked stays with Marc to this day.
Prior to contact with the enemy Marc recalled feeling anxious anticipation, worry, butterflies. But when contact is made the Marines relied on instinct and muscle memory from their training. Marc described a fire fight as organized chaos. There is yelling, but each GI knows who’s voice they need to focus on and execute using their training in a very fluid environment. “There is no way to accurately describe what I was seeing. It’s so movie-like. Helicopters are taking off, there are explosions, we’re sending out the tanks”. Then came the distinct sound of the tanks firing at their targets. Marc distinctly recalls the deafening sound of the 50 caliber machine gun on his Humvee and how it reverberated in the contained space. He also vividly recalled how the 50 cal “just erased buildings”.
When Marc’s unit arrived in Afghanistan the first order of business was the routine “left-seat, right-seat” training. When a change of command occurs and responsibility passes to the incoming unit, the departing unit takes the incoming personnel on several missions to teach them the enemy’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they had seen during their deployment. Both units go on the missions together and ride in the same vehicles. Although left seat-right seat is generally routine, the Taliban often received intelligence about the change in command and used it as an opportunity to launch an attack and attempt to unnerve the new troops.
On the first left seat-right seat Marc and unit was assured they would be patrolling Route Tiffaney, a route known to be safe. Marc was in the third vehicle in the convoy and his Captain and medic were in the second vehicle along with the Captain and medic of the departing unit. The front of each vehicle was equipped with a mine roller protruding several feet in front of the vehicle. It was designed to detonate any IEDs (improvised explosive device) and minimize damage and casualties. On this patrol the second vehicle’s mine roller missed the IED, and the front tire of the vehicle detonated it. “You can see the plume (from the explosion) and you can see the sound as it is coming at you”. When the smoke cleared, they could see the vehicle remained mostly intact. There were several injuries but no fatalities. However, the Captain’s injuries were significant enough that 1st Lieutenant Wilkerson had to step up and take command of Marc’s unit. The convoy loaded the injured into the vehicles and headed the 10 miles back to the base. Lt. Christopher Wilkerson, an Alabama football fan who often drawled ‘roll tide’, proved himself to be a capable leader and earned the respect of his men. He was later promoted to Captain.
With his first mission was under his belt Marc wondered, “this is what I have chosen to do with my life? What was I thinking?”
Missions included providing security for resupply convoys. “Wherever we showed up the Marines were happy to see because they knew we were bringing goodies”. After dropping the supplies, they would stay the night and return to base the next morning. These resupply missions did not go unnoticed by the Taliban and they often attacked the FOB (Forward Operating Base) that night. “Some of them (Marines) were very excited because they hadn’t seen any action in two weeks and now they knew would be attacked. Finally, some interesting stuff”.
The unit had completed near 10 missions and Marc recalled a resupply mission to FOB Shigazy and coming under attack that night. FOB Shigazy “was basically some sandbags and wire” in the middle of nowhere. That night the U.S. lost four men. That was the first time Marc would smell burning flesh. “I think that night was one of the worst. Technically we won the fight, but it felt like we lost. It was the first time I had lost someone that was close. I felt like a failure”. Fighting through tears Marc said, “I haven’t said his name in so long.” Although Marc had seen death and gruesome scenes, he had never had this happen to someone close to him. “You load the body bags and say goodbye”. This is a very emotional memory for Marc and not likely to fade anytime soon.
Sometime after this fire fight another soldier took his life while on guard duty. It is unclear what drove this solider to make such a decision but Marc, 25 years old, had to handle the aftermath. “I had so many emotions to process, and I felt like I had no time to do it because we had other missions coming up and paperwork and After-Action Reports to complete”. Marc still had the responsibility to make sure platoon remained focused. There were more missions, and they needed to stay focused for each other. Marc and his men talked about the suicide, and they had a hard time dealing with the anger and grief. “It hit the guys really hard.”
Marc had many interactions with the Afghani’s. He said it is a very male dominated society. “I’ve seen them beat the shit out of a woman and we were not allowed to engage in (stop) that. It sucks. I grew up around that”. Marc said they also learned that women were for family and little boys were for enjoyment. Again, the rules of engagement precluded the U.S. troops from intervening. He interacted with village chiefs, he had dinner with them, he paid them money for safe passage. He also had an interpreter that was educated in America.
On one occasion Marc’s convoy came across a man walking down a road they were traveling on. They stopped and Marc sent his interpreter to talk to the man. The man said he was starting a mosque, and he needed money. The interpreter gave him some money and the man told him not to continue on the road they were traveling. Marc asked if the interpreter if he would have given them that warning if he had not given the money. “No”, the interpreter replied.
Marc recalled having Afghani children run in front of the convoys to make them stop. When the convoy stopped the children would climb on the vehicles to steal or break whatever they could get their hands on, or in some cases start fights with the Marines. A stationary convoy is an easier target for the Taliban to hit. “We were their chance at a better life. They stole millions of dollars of equipment. After some time, orders were issued to the ground troops not to stop. “Every other mission we were running over two or three kids.” The shock of running over these children was only exceeded on the return trip on the same road where the Marines would now find the mothers grieving and weeping for their children.
Exposure to combat situations affect everyone differently, but it affects everyone. “Being in that environment where there is no real rest. You are constantly on alert. You hear the incoming sirens. You have to take shelter in a bunker.” Post Traumatic Stress is real and until it is experienced it or heard firsthand it is hard for a civilian to fully grasp its’ insidious nature. Marc has spoken to counselors about his experiences but found the counselors were unable to relate to what he had seen and experienced.
With only three missions remaining, Marc’s team left on a re-supply mission. While enroute to the FOB the sand on the road gave way and Marc’s vehicle rolled over. He aggravated his previous injuries that hadn’t quite healed. The decision was made that Marc would be sidelined from missions to allow his injuries to heal. As is often the case with soldiers that have been in combat and wounded, among their first thoughts is getting back to their unit. The sense of purpose and the bonds developed among soldiers that experience the same trauma and sacrifices drives them to want to rejoin their brothers and sisters. In Marc’s case this was amplified by his leadership position and his concern for his men. Dealing with these emotions further weighed on Marc’s mental state.
Despite the efforts of Captain Wilkerson, Marc was sidelined for the balance of the deployment. Marc could not see the logic of this decision and became angry. The Marines returned to Camp LeJeune the day before Thanksgiving in 2013. After spending Thanksgiving with his family Marc was assigned to Brooklyn, NY where the 6th Communications Battalion was based. Marc was assigned to the Inspector Instructor staff and for the next two years Marc worked on healing his knee and back injuries. He was placed on a Medical Evaluation Board. The Med Board determines if a soldier has been able to rehabilitate his or her injuries and is capable of meeting military retention standards. After two years Marc could not perform to the standards required and was medically discharged. “It was a gut punch to have given 10 years to the Marine Corps and being dropped so fast”.
The discharge process was lonely. Marc felt that since he was of no use to the Marines, the Marines cast him to the side. He felt transition process was abrupt and provided little practical help. “They don’t tell you that you eventually start attending more funerals than birthday parties”. Marc has lost seven friends since he left the Marines 11 years ago.
Marc used his GI benefits and enrolled at Fordham University where he majored in Political Science and minored in theater. “They are very veteran friendly. I had a great experience there.” Marc was a 30-year-old seasoned combat veteran, and he often found relating to 18- and 19-year old students with little life experience difficult at times.
Marc was on a cocktail of medications for the pain from his injuries and his PTS and Ambien to help him sleep. “I woke up one day in the middle of Times Square wearing… a jacket with no shirt…a bloody nose and my knuckles were all scraped up. I had no identification on me and apparently, I withdrew $450 from an ATM at some point during the night. I have no idea where that money went”. Marc was living in Hell’s Kitchen at the time and suffered one of the side effects; sleep walking. Since that day Marc has eliminated all medication except the pain killers.
Marc met his future wife Wendy Abreu while at George Washington High School. “It was love at first sight. I still remember the first time I saw her. We were in the cafeteria of George Washington…she was at the table directly across from me and she had this bright red shirt and blue jeans…I saw her and I was immediately taken with her”. Throughout high school Wendy and Marc were only friends. They stayed in contact throughout Marc’s military career, and they reconnected in 2014. Marc was having a difficult time transitioning from the Marines. Wendy decided to stay with him for a few days to help and after three days “she never left”. The couple was married in 2017 and had a son shortly thereafter.
After graduation from Fordham Marc found a job working with Congressman Espaillat. He worked in various capacities helping veterans. After working there, Marc took the position as the Director of Veterans Services for the Jospeh P. Dwyer Peer to Peer Support Program. It can be an emotionally draining job at times but “All that pain, all that trauma, all that loss gave me the ability to do what I do here now”.
Marc had a difficult time reconciling the desire to serve with the costs related to that service, the loss of friends and the effects on his mental state. “Up until that point (the suicide) we had littles scares…but it doesn’t turn you off to the bigger picture. I started questioning everything…. about being a Marine, my decisions…who I was…”. The emotional impact of the suicide took Marc to a very dark place for quite some time before he was able to crawl out of it. “There is not a day that goes by that I am not hurting from it”. Adding to that hurt, is the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of ’21 which is very upsetting to Marc three full years after the pullout.
Marc believes that veterans go through life with a different perspective than the typical civilian. Veterans have seen how caring and helpful people can be to other people. They have also seen the darkest sides of humanity and how people are capable of inflicting extreme cruelty and pain on their fellow citizens of the world.
In 38 years, Marc has experienced things that most people never will and will probably never be able to fully appreciate. The people of the United States are grateful that you did the hard work, so we didn’t have to. You are truly one of the Few Good Men.
“I love my son. It flipped a switch in me that I didn’t know I had.”
Marc Carlo was born on April 4th, 1987 at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. Hell’s Kitchen was first settled by Irish immigrants and through the years a wave of Hispanic immigrants traded places with the Irish. Like many sections of New York City, Hell’s Kitchen has gone through periods of decay, decline and renewal. While Marc was growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, street smarts and luck played a big role in which direction your life took.
Marc has Italian and Puerto Rican heritage and was raised by a single mother, Lillian Colon, with the help of his grandmother Nereida. Marc watched his mother struggle to overcome the daily struggles of being a single mom. They lived in an apartment in a condemned building and other apartments with no electricity or heat. He knew he needed to carry his weight to lighten the load for his mother. “It flipped a switch in me. I need to help. I need to serve. I need to do something”. Marc made sure he could do his laundry and feed himself. “She did the best she could with what she had…anything I could do to make her life easier, I’m gonna do it”.
Marc has a half-brother Dylan who is ten years younger. The boy’s stepfather was physically abusive toward Lillian and the boys. That landed 12 year old Marc in the hospital before they could obtain a restraining order. A run in with the law put their stepfather in jail and the family was saved from that torment.
Marc attended PS 111 and recalled spending a lot of time on the playground in De Witt Clinton Park amidst the homeless and scatter drug syringes. The neighborhood kids went to the PAL and Hartley House to take advantage of after school programs. Marc recalled the adults in the neighborhood watching out of the neighborhood children.
On September 11th, 2001 Marc was a freshman at George Washington High School, in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. That morning, he and his friends decided to cut school. When they showed up at school later that morning, they learned the World Trade Centers had been hit. The situation was chaotic as the faculty tried to reunite children with their parents. Marc remembered that there was fear in the air, and he couldn’t understand that there were people who hated the United States.
After graduation in 2005 Marc was unsure of his next steps in life. He attended college for a short time, but he quickly learned it wasn’t for him. Marc bumped into a friend from the neighborhood that had joined the Marine Corps. ‘You might want to think about joining the Marine Corps. It will help you process all of the anger that you have’. Marc talked with recruiters from the Marine Corps, the Army and the Air Force. Marc wasn’t looking to change the world. He thought, “I just want to serve. I want to do my part. I felt like we were wronged…I want to serve”. Marc enlisted in the Marine Corps. at the age of 19. His mother understood why he wanted to serve, but she was strongly against it.
Marc headed to Parris Island for a tough 13 weeks of basic training. The physical aspect of bootcamp was difficult but Marc felt the mental aspect was by far more difficult. “First phase they break you down. In phase 2 they build you in whatever image they want you and in phase 3 they want to see if everything they taught you, you are able to carry out and do”. Marc recalled one morning when one of the recruits didn’t shave. The Drill Instructor told him to get the biggest rock he could find and start shaving with it. At graduation Marc’s mother didn’t recognize him. “I went into boot camp at 225 lbs. and came out at 160 lbs”.
After a short visit home Marc headed to Camp Geiger for 6 weeks of Marine Combat Training (MCT). Unlike the other branches of the military, every Marine is trained as a rifleman first. In MCT they learned to shoot various weapons, how to patrol, Quick Reaction Force Training, live fire exercises. The Marines Corps make sure every Marine knows what to do in a combat situation. After MCT Marc headed to Advance Individual Training (AIT) at Camp LeJeune.
In AIT Marc learned to be an auto mechanic. The training was very detailed. After classroom training, they went into the shop and learned the practical application of the classroom training.
Marc felt very lucky to receive very good training every step of the way. “Staff Sgt. Santiago was our combat trainer, and he was in the push to Fallujah.” He also felt he had people watching out for him and giving him opportunities to prove himself. Marc continued to prove himself and was rewarded by being given leadership roles as squad leader and platoon leader. When Marc was promoted to Corporal, he was sent to the very challenging Marine Corps Marshall Arts Program where he rose to the level of black belt. “When you don’t you have any bullets what are you gonna do?” Marc proved to be a good rifleman and “I shot expert four times in a row with both my rifle and my pistol”. This earned him enrollment in the PMI (Primary Marksman Instructor) Instructor Course. He continued to add to his training with Combat Instructor Certification, Roadside Checkpoint Training and Tier One Training.
Tier One Training is a two-month Special Forces Training. The first month included combat maneuvers and shooting, room clearing, working with improvised explosives, defensive driving and breathing techniques. The second month focused on how to treat and dress combat wounds. It was an all-encompassing program to prepare a soldier to be down range and be prepared to handle whatever situation presents itself. “It was one of the best experiences in my entire military career. The feeling afterward of feeling invincible…there is nothing you can’t accomplish”.
Marc asked if he would like to volunteer for a deployment to Italy. He jumped at the chance but when he received his orders, he learned Sicily would be their home base. The rest of the time they would be on Train and Equip missions in various countries in Africa. They would spend a month in African country and then return to the U.S. base in Sicily for a week. His Tier I training would be invaluable on this deployment. For this deployment his motor transport unit was attached to 3rd Force Recon. Marc would be part of a 12-man team and be the mechanic. “I never touched a car the entire time I was there.”
In a Train and Equipment mission the U.S. would bring supplies and equipment, provide it to the local forces and teach them how to use the equipment to defend themselves. Marc said the missions in Africa were in some ways more difficult than the missions to Afghanistan which would follow the Africa deployment.
Marc spent three weeks in Uganda. There they slowly changed the course of a river to create easier access for the villagers, established electricity in the villages and trained the local military forces. “When we left, they came in and slaughtered 90% of the villagers”.
3rd Force Recon went on to spend a month and a half in Siera Leone, three weeks in Djibouti and a month Mauritanian. Marc recalls going to sleep with his pistol under his pillow. Marc recalled the local people being very friendly. These were third world countries that did not have many of the conveniences we take for granted. Training the locals proved to be challenging. The Marines provided weapons to them and they did not appreciate the appropriate safety measures that needed to be taken.
On one mission the team broke up into two cars of six and headed off down backroads. A local national working for the U.S. was driving and noticed that they were being followed. The driver employed some aggressive driving in an attempt to evade the following vehicle, but on a sharp turn the van’s back wheels slipped on the wet dirt road and rolled off the side of the road and hit the only light pole for miles. Marc was thrown from his seat and struck his head rendering him unconscious. Marc tore fluid pockets in his knee, broke one rib and fracture another. He also had a concussion and a bulging disc. He remembers waking up in a third world hospital with considerable pain. Marc was administered some unregulated narcotics to relive the pain which worked like a charm. They spent the night and were flown out the next day to Djibouti, the only Africa country with an American military base. He was rushed to the emergency room for xrays, an MRI and treatment for his ribs and knee. The doctors suggested back surgery, but Marc declined and elected to rehab the injuries.
He went back to Sigonella, Sicily to work on his rehab for his back and knee. He returned to the U.S. in November of 2012 and learned he was headed for Helman Province in Afghanistan two months later. Prior to the deployment Marc was promoted to Sargeant.
In January of 2013 Marc and his fellow Marines departed the states from North Carolina and after a brief stop in Ireland they headed to a U.S. military base in Kyrgyzstan. They assembled and prepared their gear and then loaded it onto a C-130 for the final flight to Afghanistan. The troops tried to relax on the flight. Music and conversations filled the plane above the sound of the engines. When the green light in the cabin changed to red, indicating they had entered Afghanistan and unfriendly air space, reality set in. Marc recalled a distinct change in attitude when the light turned red. “I get goosebumps thinking about it again”. Everything went quiet and the Marines mentally prepared themselves for what awaited them.
Marc recalled landing at night and when the door opened being hit with oppressive hot air. As they departed the aircraft into the dark Afghanistan night, they were advised to move quickly to their tents for the night. They all understood this was not training. This was what they had trained for. The next day they headed to Marine base Camp Leatherneck in Helman Province. “It was kind of surreal, that hot air hits you. Training for the fight and being in the fight are two different things”.
They were issued 6 magazines with 30 rounds in each and were instructed to have a battle buddy at all times. Whenever they left the wire (leave the base) the Marines would rack their weapons. This put a round in the chamber and readied the weapon for a fire fight. The sound of the weapons being racked stays with Marc to this day.
Prior to contact with the enemy Marc recalled feeling anxious anticipation, worry, butterflies. But when contact is made the Marines relied on instinct and muscle memory from their training. Marc described a fire fight as organized chaos. There is yelling, but each GI knows who’s voice they need to focus on and execute using their training in a very fluid environment. “There is no way to accurately describe what I was seeing. It’s so movie-like. Helicopters are taking off, there are explosions, we’re sending out the tanks”. Then came the distinct sound of the tanks firing at their targets. Marc distinctly recalls the deafening sound of the 50 caliber machine gun on his Humvee and how it reverberated in the contained space. He also vividly recalled how the 50 cal “just erased buildings”.
When Marc’s unit arrived in Afghanistan the first order of business was the routine “left-seat, right-seat” training. When a change of command occurs and responsibility passes to the incoming unit, the departing unit takes the incoming personnel on several missions to teach them the enemy’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they had seen during their deployment. Both units go on the missions together and ride in the same vehicles. Although left seat-right seat is generally routine, the Taliban often received intelligence about the change in command and used it as an opportunity to launch an attack and attempt to unnerve the new troops.
On the first left seat-right seat Marc and unit was assured they would be patrolling Route Tiffaney, a route known to be safe. Marc was in the third vehicle in the convoy and his Captain and medic were in the second vehicle along with the Captain and medic of the departing unit. The front of each vehicle was equipped with a mine roller protruding several feet in front of the vehicle. It was designed to detonate any IEDs (improvised explosive device) and minimize damage and casualties. On this patrol the second vehicle’s mine roller missed the IED, and the front tire of the vehicle detonated it. “You can see the plume (from the explosion) and you can see the sound as it is coming at you”. When the smoke cleared, they could see the vehicle remained mostly intact. There were several injuries but no fatalities. However, the Captain’s injuries were significant enough that 1st Lieutenant Wilkerson had to step up and take command of Marc’s unit. The convoy loaded the injured into the vehicles and headed the 10 miles back to the base. Lt. Christopher Wilkerson, an Alabama football fan who often drawled ‘roll tide’, proved himself to be a capable leader and earned the respect of his men. He was later promoted to Captain.
With his first mission was under his belt Marc wondered, “this is what I have chosen to do with my life? What was I thinking?”
Missions included providing security for resupply convoys. “Wherever we showed up the Marines were happy to see because they knew we were bringing goodies”. After dropping the supplies, they would stay the night and return to base the next morning. These resupply missions did not go unnoticed by the Taliban and they often attacked the FOB (Forward Operating Base) that night. “Some of them (Marines) were very excited because they hadn’t seen any action in two weeks and now they knew would be attacked. Finally, some interesting stuff”.
The unit had completed near 10 missions and Marc recalled a resupply mission to FOB Shigazy and coming under attack that night. FOB Shigazy “was basically some sandbags and wire” in the middle of nowhere. That night the U.S. lost four men. That was the first time Marc would smell burning flesh. “I think that night was one of the worst. Technically we won the fight, but it felt like we lost. It was the first time I had lost someone that was close. I felt like a failure”. Fighting through tears Marc said, “I haven’t said his name in so long.” Although Marc had seen death and gruesome scenes, he had never had this happen to someone close to him. “You load the body bags and say goodbye”. This is a very emotional memory for Marc and not likely to fade anytime soon.
Sometime after this fire fight another soldier took his life while on guard duty. It is unclear what drove this solider to make such a decision but Marc, 25 years old, had to handle the aftermath. “I had so many emotions to process, and I felt like I had no time to do it because we had other missions coming up and paperwork and After-Action Reports to complete”. Marc still had the responsibility to make sure platoon remained focused. There were more missions, and they needed to stay focused for each other. Marc and his men talked about the suicide, and they had a hard time dealing with the anger and grief. “It hit the guys really hard.”
Marc had many interactions with the Afghani’s. He said it is a very male dominated society. “I’ve seen them beat the shit out of a woman and we were not allowed to engage in (stop) that. It sucks. I grew up around that”. Marc said they also learned that women were for family and little boys were for enjoyment. Again, the rules of engagement precluded the U.S. troops from intervening. He interacted with village chiefs, he had dinner with them, he paid them money for safe passage. He also had an interpreter that was educated in America.
On one occasion Marc’s convoy came across a man walking down a road they were traveling on. They stopped and Marc sent his interpreter to talk to the man. The man said he was starting a mosque, and he needed money. The interpreter gave him some money and the man told him not to continue on the road they were traveling. Marc asked if the interpreter if he would have given them that warning if he had not given the money. “No”, the interpreter replied.
Marc recalled having Afghani children run in front of the convoys to make them stop. When the convoy stopped the children would climb on the vehicles to steal or break whatever they could get their hands on, or in some cases start fights with the Marines. A stationary convoy is an easier target for the Taliban to hit. “We were their chance at a better life. They stole millions of dollars of equipment. After some time, orders were issued to the ground troops not to stop. “Every other mission we were running over two or three kids.” The shock of running over these children was only exceeded on the return trip on the same road where the Marines would now find the mothers grieving and weeping for their children.
Exposure to combat situations affect everyone differently, but it affects everyone. “Being in that environment where there is no real rest. You are constantly on alert. You hear the incoming sirens. You have to take shelter in a bunker.” Post Traumatic Stress is real and until it is experienced it or heard firsthand it is hard for a civilian to fully grasp its’ insidious nature. Marc has spoken to counselors about his experiences but found the counselors were unable to relate to what he had seen and experienced.
With only three missions remaining, Marc’s team left on a re-supply mission. While enroute to the FOB the sand on the road gave way and Marc’s vehicle rolled over. He aggravated his previous injuries that hadn’t quite healed. The decision was made that Marc would be sidelined from missions to allow his injuries to heal. As is often the case with soldiers that have been in combat and wounded, among their first thoughts is getting back to their unit. The sense of purpose and the bonds developed among soldiers that experience the same trauma and sacrifices drives them to want to rejoin their brothers and sisters. In Marc’s case this was amplified by his leadership position and his concern for his men. Dealing with these emotions further weighed on Marc’s mental state.
Despite the efforts of Captain Wilkerson, Marc was sidelined for the balance of the deployment. Marc could not see the logic of this decision and became angry. The Marines returned to Camp LeJeune the day before Thanksgiving in 2013. After spending Thanksgiving with his family Marc was assigned to Brooklyn, NY where the 6th Communications Battalion was based. Marc was assigned to the Inspector Instructor staff and for the next two years Marc worked on healing his knee and back injuries. He was placed on a Medical Evaluation Board. The Med Board determines if a soldier has been able to rehabilitate his or her injuries and is capable of meeting military retention standards. After two years Marc could not perform to the standards required and was medically discharged. “It was a gut punch to have given 10 years to the Marine Corps and being dropped so fast”.
The discharge process was lonely. Marc felt that since he was of no use to the Marines, the Marines cast him to the side. He felt transition process was abrupt and provided little practical help. “They don’t tell you that you eventually start attending more funerals than birthday parties”. Marc has lost seven friends since he left the Marines 11 years ago.
Marc used his GI benefits and enrolled at Fordham University where he majored in Political Science and minored in theater. “They are very veteran friendly. I had a great experience there.” Marc was a 30-year-old seasoned combat veteran, and he often found relating to 18- and 19-year old students with little life experience difficult at times.
Marc was on a cocktail of medications for the pain from his injuries and his PTS and Ambien to help him sleep. “I woke up one day in the middle of Times Square wearing… a jacket with no shirt…a bloody nose and my knuckles were all scraped up. I had no identification on me and apparently, I withdrew $450 from an ATM at some point during the night. I have no idea where that money went”. Marc was living in Hell’s Kitchen at the time and suffered one of the side effects; sleep walking. Since that day Marc has eliminated all medication except the pain killers.
Marc met his future wife Wendy Abreu while at George Washington High School. “It was love at first sight. I still remember the first time I saw her. We were in the cafeteria of George Washington…she was at the table directly across from me and she had this bright red shirt and blue jeans…I saw her and I was immediately taken with her”. Throughout high school Wendy and Marc were only friends. They stayed in contact throughout Marc’s military career, and they reconnected in 2014. Marc was having a difficult time transitioning from the Marines. Wendy decided to stay with him for a few days to help and after three days “she never left”. The couple was married in 2017 and had a son shortly thereafter.
After graduation from Fordham Marc found a job working with Congressman Espaillat. He worked in various capacities helping veterans. After working there, Marc took the position as the Director of Veterans Services for the Jospeh P. Dwyer Peer to Peer Support Program. It can be an emotionally draining job at times but “All that pain, all that trauma, all that loss gave me the ability to do what I do here now”.
Marc had a difficult time reconciling the desire to serve with the costs related to that service, the loss of friends and the effects on his mental state. “Up until that point (the suicide) we had littles scares…but it doesn’t turn you off to the bigger picture. I started questioning everything…. about being a Marine, my decisions…who I was…”. The emotional impact of the suicide took Marc to a very dark place for quite some time before he was able to crawl out of it. “There is not a day that goes by that I am not hurting from it”. Adding to that hurt, is the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of ’21 which is very upsetting to Marc three full years after the pullout.
Marc believes that veterans go through life with a different perspective than the typical civilian. Veterans have seen how caring and helpful people can be to other people. They have also seen the darkest sides of humanity and how people are capable of inflicting extreme cruelty and pain on their fellow citizens of the world.
In 38 years, Marc has experienced things that most people never will and will probably never be able to fully appreciate. The people of the United States are grateful that you did the hard work, so we didn’t have to. You are truly one of the Few Good Men.
“I love my son. It flipped a switch in me that I didn’t know I had.”