Evesham Marine receives warm send-off
EVESHAM
"I'm confident in my unit," said Macready, 20. "My platoon knows how do the job. I've lost close friends in Iraq, friends I went to infantry school with. That doesn't make me afraid. It just makes me want to make sure their deaths were not in vain." (1/2 / pic at ext link)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051029/NEWS01/510290354/1006
Saturday, October 29, 2005
By BILL DUHART
Courier-Post Staff
EVESHAM
Ann Macready said she was aware of indictments Friday against a key member of the Bush White House on a charge related to the start of the war in Iraq.
But Macready said she didn't want to talk about that. She just wanted to talk about the party she was having for her son, Chris, who is headed to the Middle East with the Marines.
"Tonight is about Chris," said Macready, 52, a media consultant. "It's not about politics. It's about my son putting his life on the line for all of us."
Chris Macready, a 2004 graduate of Cherokee High School, said this is something he has wanted to do since he was 5 years old. He has been a Marine for the past year, based in North Carolina.
"I'm confident in my unit," said Macready, 20. "My platoon knows how do the job. I've lost close friends in Iraq, friends I went to infantry school with. That doesn't make me afraid. It just makes me want to make sure their deaths were not in vain."
Macready is part of the First Battalion, Second Marine Division. His unit is scheduled to leave for Kuwait on Nov. 7 and Macready said he expects to be in Iraq shortly thereafter.
But Friday, he was with about two dozen friends and loved ones who wanted to let him know how much they cared.
"I'm here for you, man," said Anthony D'Alonzo, 20, Macready's best friend. "Just know that when you're out there by yourself. There are plenty of people here thinking of you."
Macready also got a going-away present from the Burlington County Military Affairs Committee. Lisa Post, chairwoman of the volunteer group, gave Macready 50 10-minute international calling cards and other items to keep him feeling close to home.
"I'm just here to let the young people from our county who are leaving us to go into harm's way know that we care," said Post, a retired Army reserve captain. "I never say goodbye on these occasions. I always say we'll look forward to you coming home."
Reach Bill Duhart at (856) 486-2576 or bduhart@courierpostonline.com