Marine talks about her decision to serve
By Connie Cartmell, ccartmell@mariettatimes.comFact Box
Megan Smith file
Age: 25.
Address: Oak Hill, Palmer Township.
Family: Parents, Alvis and Maria Smith; three brothers, ages 23, 17 and 15.
Military career: Joined the U.S. Marine Corps in April 2003, was deployed to Iraq in 2006. Her duties included processing POWs, using high-tech computerized fingerprinting and iris scans. A member of the Marine Reserves.
Employment: First Settlement Physical Therapy, Marietta.
When she was a student at Ohio University, Megan Smith, 25, of Palmer Township, watched a television program one evening about a young wife and mother who was soon to be deployed to Iraq.
The woman spoke of how difficult it was going to be to leave her husband and three children behind. It was soon after the U.S. entered Iraq.
"I thought to myself that I would give anything to trade her places so she could stay home with her family," Smith told members of the Marietta Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Thursday.
"I knew then that I wanted to do something more with my life," she said. "I had a friend who was a Marine and I made up my mind then."
Smith was guest speaker at the group's Patriot Day program at the American Legion post in Marietta. About 25 attended.
"She chose military service because she thought it was the right way to go," said Al Cummings, 77, of Marietta, a Korean War veteran and member of the SAR. "Megan could have gone in a lot of different routes with her education. I admire her for taking a stand."
In service to America, Smith has earned numerous ribbons including National Defense, Good Conduct, Service Deployment, Global War on Terrorism, Iraq Campaign Ribbon and Rifle Marksmanship badge.
"For Megan, with all the opportunity in the world, she chose to join the Marines. It was a choice on her part," said Jean Yost of Barlow, moderator of the program and president of the local SAR chapter. "She was still a student at OU when the U.S. engaged Iraq."
Her work in Iraq was organizing a computerized system of photographs, iris scans, and fingerprints which, once a detainee was released, would remain in the data bank and be rechecked as each new detainee was processed in.
"I was actually trained in radio technology; that was my original job description," she said. "I think it was organizational skills and attention to detail that got me the job."
She seldom, if ever, left her military base in Iraq and did not have an opportunity to mix with Iraqi citizens, she said. She doesn't believe she will be deployed again, but does not know for sure.
As for a future in the military, Smith has made no decisions.
"I learned to live without the things that we take for granted here," she said. "I am thankful to my parents, and for the camaraderie in the corps. I have built wonderful friendships that will last a lifetime."
The next meeting of the Marietta Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, is Sept. 20, when there will be a work day at the Scherber Family Cemetery, building a fence and setting up stones, Yost said.
The group also plans an exhibit, along with the Ohio Chapter of SAR, at the Barlow Fair Sept. 26-28.
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OneAmongThem
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09-12-08 7:55 PM
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Hats off to Megan! Thank you for your service to our wonderful country! Great story Marietta Times!
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Darby1952
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09-12-08 4:11 PM
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Hoo-rah Semper Fi Megan
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TXBuckeye
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09-12-08 3:43 PM
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Add one more "Thank You" to the list. Megan's sense of duty is admirable.
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UncleGrunt
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09-12-08 12:53 PM
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Thank you for your service. You picked the best. Therefore, you are the best.
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hunted1
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09-12-08 12:28 PM
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Megan what an honorable choice you made! I thank you for your service to this great country! You as well as all military personnel are true heroes in my eyes. You must be very PROUD of your decision, Thank you again and May God Bless you as well as all veterans!
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peppie
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09-12-08 11:20 AM
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I agree with harleyrider, thank all military for serving our country.
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riveraux
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09-12-08 9:43 AM
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Bravo Zulu Marine.
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Harleyrider
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09-12-08 9:24 AM
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Thank you were your service. May God watch and protect you and your fellow brothers and sisters in arms.
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