Gilroy
– Molly Howe, 18, caught glimpses in Iraq of both the best and
the worst that war has to offer.
The Marine lance corporal recently returned from a six-month
stay at a base in the middle of the country, where she worked as an
administrative clerk.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Molly Howe, 18, caught glimpses in Iraq of both the best and the worst that war has to offer.
The Marine lance corporal recently returned from a six-month stay at a base in the middle of the country, where she worked as an administrative clerk.
When she arrived in Iraq with the 1st Marine Division Headquarters and Service Company last September, Howe’s first job was completing casualty reports for 12 hours a day, every day. The Gilroy High School graduate wrote up brief summaries that would be sent to the families of wounded or killed Marines.
“It was horrible, horrible to see what was happening to our Marines out there,” Howe said. “It was tough. You didn’t ever want to know what happened to the Marines because if you knew, it would eat you up inside.”
Howe said she also dreaded seeing a name she recognized, which happened when Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, also from Gilroy, was killed last November. A fellow Marine had written up the report, Howe said.
A couple months into her stay, Howe was transferred to a duty that couldn’t have been more different: Honors. She completed the certificates and summaries of the action warranting a commendation or award. Many of the heroic efforts were similar, she said, but each Marine made an impression for his bravery.
“It is really amazing what our Marines are doing out there,” Howe said. “They are going above and beyond the call of duty.”
Howe worked on a Medal of Honor recommendation – the nation’s highest military honor – for a sergeant who saved the lives of several fellow Marines when, after being shot, placed himself over a grenade thrown by an insurgent.
“It was definitely an honor to work on his award,” Howe said.
When she was preparing to deploy to Iraq, Howe said she had some idea of what her job there might be like, but she had just completed training.
“We pretty much knew it was going to happen, we just didn’t know it was going to happen so soon,” she said.
But Howe was ready: She’s been eager to join the military since she was 16 years old. Because she had to be 17 to sign up for the Marine Corps, she enlisted on her 17th birthday and graduated from GHS a semester early to complete basic training. She received her diploma wearing her dress blue uniform.
Howe arrived at Camp Pendleton on Aug. 17, three days before her 18th birthday. After completing specialized training in North Carolina, she expected to settle into the Southern California base.
“I was there long enough to unpack my stuff, pack it back up and leave,” Howe said. “I was anxious, but I was excited to go, I wanted to meet new people.”
She calls the danger involved “part of the job description.”
“I’ll do whatever they ask me to,” she said. “I haven’t met a Marine that wasn’t excited to go to Iraq, but everyone is a little apprehensive.”
Howe admits that she was in a safer and much more comfortable situation than Marines stationed throughout the country. The base had showers, plenty of food, a store, gym, and even a recreation center. She has countless pictures of the sunsets in a country she says is “gorgeous.” But reality was never far away. A few Marines were injured during her stay, as mortar fire rained down every two or three days. During times of heightened alert, she wore a bullet-proof vest, flak jacket, and carried a gas mask as she walked to work.
“They tend to keep (women) away from combat, but if something happens, we’re a Marine, too,” she said. “We are all classified as basic riflemen, and you have your rifle with you 24 hours a day.”
Despite the stress of being in the Middle East and seeing hundreds upon hundreds of casualty reports, Howe said she stayed focused on the long term.
“You have to keep working. If you slack, it can hurt someone down the line,” she said. “And you know that that’s what everyone else is doing, too.”
As the conflict continues in Iraq while voices of dissent sound in the states, Howe said morale on the base was buoyed by dedication to service.
“Everything in the Marine Corps is what you make of it …,” she said. “Every Marine is loyal to the mission and loyal to the chain of command despite our personal beliefs. Everyone is still focused on the mission, that’s our priority.”
Coming back to her parents’ home in Gilroy was a long process, Howe said. She traveled from the base in Iraq through two other Middle East bases to Germany, before flying to Camp Pendleton. She spent a couple weeks there, re-adjusting to life back in the states and getting settled for when she returns next month.
These days, she’s thankful for civilian clothes, letting down her hair, driving her car and talking on a cell phone. She is working with local recruiters, her days packed full with visits to high school students from San Jose to Monterey County.
A year from now, Howe might go back to Iraq. In the meantime, she asks that Gilroy residents remember those protecting them.
“Keep in mind there’s still Marines out there, risking everything 24/7,” Howe said. “I have friends out there still. As we’re taking advantage of everything we’ve got here, we’ve got to remember what they’re doing for us.”
