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An up close and personal interview with U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Togetherweserved.com Member:
Capt Sean M. O'Neill U.S. Marine Corps (1997-2005)
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
 First and foremost it would have to be my Dad and my brothers Bryan & Kirk. My dad is also a Marine who served in Vietnam: DaNang, Marble Mt., Khe Sanh in '67. Sgt O'Neill was a crew chief on a CH-37 assigned to HMH-461, MAG-29 out of New River when it was the 1st MAW.
My oldest brother Bryan was also a major factor because when I joined he was a Captain in the Air Force flying KC-135 Mid Air Refuelers. My other older brother Kirk was another big factor because when he was younger he wanted to be a Marine more then anything in the world but was unable to join due to his heart murmur. I remember as a kid growing up and sharing a room with my brother Kirk and our entire room was camouflage -wallpaper, curtains, bedspread, everything, and Marine Corps posters littered the walls.
WHAT WAS YOUR SERVICE CAREER PATH?
Went to Parris Island for Marine Corps Recruit Training June 6, 1997. Graduated PFC O'Neill, Platoon 1064 Guide, 1st RCT TRNG BN on Aug 29, 1997. Went back to college to graduate and joined the Active Reserve assigned to HQ Plt, WPNS Co, 3/25 in Moundsville, WV as a  Field Wireman, 2512.
After I graduated College we went to CAX and then I went back out to the stumps for Field Wire Course. My OSO package was then accepted and I left for OCS in Oct 1998. Started OCS on Oct 4, 1998 in Quantico, VA and graduated on Dec 11, 1998 as a newly commissioned 2nd Lt. Then continued on to TBS, The Basic School in January of 1999. Graduated from there in June and went right next door to IOC, Infantry Officers Course. Graduated from IOC in Sept 99 and headed to the fleet. Our entire squad from IOC was assigned to 1st Bn, 6th Marines; 1/6 HARD. Served with 1/6 the remainder of my active duty enjoying two successful deployments to Okinawa with sub-deployments to Mt Fuji, Japan and Guam and numerous training opportunities in CAX, Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Sierra Nevada's and an amazing assignment to CAX as a Coyote CY-3R.
Left active duty Jan 2003 and then volunteered to go to Iraq with my old reserve unit. I joined Kilo Co, 3/25 at Moundsville, WV and took over 1st platoon for our deployment to Iraq. We arrived in Iraq, Al-Anbar province in March of 2005 and returned home after a successful combat tour in October of 2005.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN COMBAT OPERATIONS? IF SO, COULD YOU DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT TO YOU?
 We participated in numerous combat operations in 2005. Operation Sword, River Sweep and Outer Banks. We lost a couple good men like my friends SSgt Goodrich and Maj Crocker but we also accomplished several great missions. I would be hard pressed to have to pick one that would be the most significant though.
FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT?
Wow that's a hard question. Here's a good one though. It's 1999, I'm a brand new 2nd Lt just out of training and I'm standing at the P.O.A. in front of my first platoon for my first Battalion formation in the quad area between 1/6 and 2nd Tanks aboard MCB  Camp Lejeune. The entire Battalion was at the P.O.A. waiting for the Bn Cmdr to take his post when the Bn SgtMaj signals for a young LCpl to press play on a portable stereo in front of the Bn. The battalion then, as I soon found out, stood at attention for the entire playing of the song "We Are Family" by the 70's group Sister Sledge. Yes this is for real! Our Bn Cmdr Lt Col Willie C. Jones was a young Lt in 1/6 in the 70's when that song was popular and it was a source of camaraderie for all of the Marines and Officers in the Bn. Now as the CO he was re-living that feeling but unwittingly subjecting the rest of the battalion to utter humiliation as 2nd Tanks often watched and jeered us from the catwalks of their barracks. What a horrible way to be brought into the fleet. 1/6 HARD!
WERE ANY OF THE MEDALS OR AWARDS YOU RECEIVED FOR VALOR? IF YES, COULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW THIS WAS EARNED?
I received the Navy/ Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat V device for Valor for a little incident in Haditha, Iraq. We were in a 5 story school building when our Co (-) patrol came under a combined arms attack initiated with a synchronized RPG & mortar attack, the RPG blast killing Maj Crocker and wounding several others. The assault continued with about an hour of small arms and belt fed automatic weapons fire. Over the next several hours into the evening we  repelled the assault, and then went out to locate any insurgents and conduct a sort of Battle Damage Assessment. While clearing one of the houses we received a pop shot from a nearby multi story building. My CO informed me over the radio that we had several sorties of Cobra's & Hornets in holding patterns waiting to drop the building or any building we wanted for that matter. I had an eerie feeling which was confirmed by the Iraqi soldiers who were attached to our platoon when they told me that there were women and children in that building and if we bombed it, they would drop their weapons and leave, i.e. mutiny, unacceptable. Through what seemed like an eternity of translation we were able to get the Iraqi Soldiers to yell into the building and convince the residents to come out to be checked for weapons and test the men for gun powder residue. Fortunately they all complied and none of the men tested positive for residue. Fortunately, we didn't have any collateral casualties that night. One year later, the unit that relieved us, came under attack only a half mile from our location, they went in and killed innocent people and numerous Marines were subsequently court martialed for their actions.
OF THE MEDALS, AWARDS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES OR DEVICES YOU RECEIVED, WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?
Other then my NAM w/ V, it would have to be my CAR, Combat Action Ribbon. To any Marine this is pretty self-explanatory. It's your Red Badge of Courage, or sort of "been there, done that", even though thousands of Marines who fought valiantly in combat before the ribbon was created never even conceived the notion of being awarded a ribbon for something as common place as having been tested in the heat of battle. Even still, in today's, kinder, gentler world, it has become a coveted award.
Case in point, when we came under fire in Haditha my platoon had a couple of WM's (female Marines) from a logistics platoon at Al-Asad attached to my platoon to conduct searches of female Iraqi's if the need should arise during our operations. During the firefight these two young women took up a firing position without hesitation and began acquiring targets and returning fire from buildings we were receiving fire from. They performed as any Marine would be expected to and without exception.
After we returned to FOB Hit, I got a satellite call from my friends wife and fellow Marine, Captain Erin Nalepa aboard Al-Asad. She informed me that those two Marines were her Marines and she was wondering if they were being included in the write up for the C.A.R. I told her that they were and informed her of how well they had performed under fire. She was ecstatic and told me about how these two Marines had become folk heroes in her unit and their legend was spreading across Al-Asad. I was proud to have served with them in combat and was later happy to hear about the book another Marine had written about women in combat that included our story of these two women Marines.
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM YOUR SERVICE STANDS OUT AS THE ONE WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
 I couldn't list just one person. If I had to, it would be to honor my very first mentor & idol, SSgt Joe Goodrich. When I was a young PFC/ LCpl he was my section leader (Sgt Goodrich) and he was a bad ass. He was the ideal Marine that I wanted emulate. Fortunately I got to serve with him later as a Captain, Platoon Commander of 1st Plt and he, as a Platoon Sergeant for WPNS Platoon in Kilo Co. Joe was later killed in action on July 10, 2005 along side LCpl Kovacicek in Hit, Iraq as a result of enemy mortars.
Other Marines that I have the utmost respect and admiration for include some of the most professional and truly amazing Marines I've ever had the honor of serving with; Lt Col Chris Douglas, Lt Col David C. Fuquea, Lt Col Brian Christmas, Maj John Gianopoulos, Capt Duane Lancaster, 1stSgt Clifford Wiggins, Sgt Maj Terry and MGySgt MacArthur.
CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE THAT WAS FUNNY AT THE TIME AND STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Oh man, there are too many to decide from. We were on Operation River Sweep were we conducted a foot patrol/ company on line sweep of the far bank of the Euphrates River across from the old ammo magazine at Dulab. On this mission we cleared over 13,000 munitions in  10 days covering 55miles/80+km by foot. We reserved water for drinking only, no shaving, nothing. On the 9th day, Cpl Finnerty found this amazing set of rams horns still intact. He was going to save them for a souvenir and so we took a picture of him with them mounted on his NVG mount on his helmet. Just then this "stuff" started to drip out of the horns and down onto his helmet , it was the inside of the horns rotting and dripping out and it stunk to high heaven. He immediately chucked them aside and went to wash his helmet in the river to try and get rid of this gawd awful stench. It had to be one of THE worst things any of us had ever smelled in our lives, which in Iraq is no small feat.
WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER THE SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB?
After the Corps I tried a couple different professions, but found my heart strings pulling me back to the family business. My old man started O'Neill Plumbing & Heating Inc. a couple years after he came home from Vietnam and now I'm slowly taking the reins from him and enjoying learning all the tricks of the trade from the old salt.
WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS?
American Legion, Post #4, Sewickley Valley; Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 5657 Sewickley, PA.
 The benefits I derive from my memberships are limited, there just doesn't seem to be the type of community in our generation as there was in previous. The Legion and VFW in Sewickley used to be huge organizations and now are slowly withering into extinction. I try to recruit some of the "newer" veterans but none want to take the time to devote what is needed. Most of all it seems that none of the younger veterans find camaraderie in sitting in a smoky old bar room, but find it on facebook and in other social online applications.
But for me, it's more personal given the fact that my Grandfather was Commander of the Legion and my Dad was Commander of the VFW, each for many, many years.
HOW HAS MILITARY SERVICE INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?
 My military service governs every aspect of my daily life either at home or at work. My wife always asks me why I have to have all of my watches or clocks on 24hr time. I look for, lean towards and even yearn for anything structured and disciplined in this shitty civilian life that even remotely resembles something of the Corps. It's amazing how my friendships and activities naturally gravitate towards like minded people, who usually turn out to be veterans, either former Marines or not. My time in Iraq has definitely made me more thankful for my family especially my little girl. I don't make a lot of money, but I'm home every night and every weekend to spend with my family and that's what is most important to me.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE STILL SERVING?
 I didn't like the movie "Jarhead" at first, but the more I watched it, the more I loved it, especially the quote in the beginning, which is one of the truest statements I have ever known. P.S. the book is even better.
"A man carries a rifle for many years and goes to war, and when he comes home he turns his rifle in at the armory. And no matter what else he might do with his hands, build a house, love a woman, change his sons diaper; his hands will always remember the rifle."
IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU MAINTAIN A BOND WITH YOUR SERVICE AND THOSE YOU SERVED WITH?
 It has been an amazing tool for staying connected and reconnecting with old friends. When I took my laptop to my parents house and sat at the kitchen table with my dad helping him fill out his profile, it was priceless seeing the look on his face when we were searching for his friends from Vietnam. We found his Platoon Commander Lt Bill Simpson, but never did find his old D.I. who he swears he would still punch out to this day to return an "undeserved" shot he received during his time on the island. That was one of the only times my dad has ever shared stories with me about his time in Vietnam. THANK YOU TWS !
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TWS VOICES
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