Marine finds path in corps
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published May 31, 2006

Lance Cpl. Marcie Manco

Marcie Manco says her former classmates at Magnificat High School would probably be shocked to learn she’s serving with the Marines in Iraq.

But it’s the truth.

Manco, a lance corporal, is currently stationed at Al Asad, a U.S. military base about 120 miles west of Bagdad.

The 24-year-old Manco described herself as “kind of free-spirited” while at Magnificat, from where she graduated in 2000.

After attending the University of Dayton and Ohio State University, she thought about entering the Air Force. But in the end, it was the Marines that offered her the direction she was looking for.

“I knew I was in the right place and this was where I was supposed to be,” Manco said of her first meeting with recruiters.

In a telephone interview with West Life last week, Manco said she feels perfectly safe at the base, where she works as a communications wireman.

“When I first got off the plane, it was incredibly safe and well put together,” she said. “It wasn’t as bad as I envisioned it.”

Manco, who is scheduled to remain in Iraq through March 2007, said she always stays on the 23-square-mile base. According to the Web site GlobalSecurity.com, Al Asad, the second largest base in Iraq, is protected by a 21-kilometer security perimeter.

Manco, who grew up in Westlake, reports food served on the base is very good, with offerings sometimes including crab legs and steak.

Back on the Westshore, Manco’s parents, grandmother, four sisters and their kids remain concerned for her well-being despite her assurances she’s in a safe place.

Manco tries to call her parents at least twice a week, she said.

“I try to tell them not to worry because there’s nothing to worry about, but they still do,” she told West Life.

She loves her family and thanks them for their support, she said, and wishes everyone well in Westlake.

According to a Harris Poll taken earlier this month, 68 percent of Americans give President George W. Bush negative marks for his handing of Iraq, compared to 29 percent who approve of the president’s actions. In the same poll, a plurality of U.S. adults — 47 to 38 percent — believes that taking military action against Iraq was the wrong thing to do.

But Manco sounded upbeat about the military’s mission in Iraq.

“The job that we’re doing is worthwhile and we have a purpose here,” she said. “We should be here. A lot of progress has been made since we’ve been here.”

Manco said that while it’s been cold in the mornings at the base, it’s been getting hotter — often 100 degrees or more. Sandstorms sometimes cover the entire sky, she said. She also reported seeing her first dirt devil, a rotating updraft, recently.