From a 2003 News Release by Belmont University:
"Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald, a 1995 graduate of Belmont University, was killed in Iraq. The Lowell Sun newspaper in Lowell, Mass., has complete - and moving - coverage.
MacDonald earned a degree in philosophy and social policy in 1995 from Belmont and a graduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2001.
From the Lowell Sun:
BURLINGTON - "That I have died means that I have failed to achieve the one thing in life I truly longed to give the world, PEACE," reads the last statement of Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald.More than 200 friends and family mourned MacDonald at a military burial yesterday in Pine Haven Cemetery in Burlington, after services at St. Margaret's Church.
A 21-gun salute was fired in honor of the U.S. Marine whose life's work was to help achieve peace in the Middle East. MacDonald died June 25 in Hilla, Iraq, when his light armored vehicle turned over on his way to rescue ambushed American soldiers. He was 29.
The Washington Post reports MacDonald, who lived in the Washington D.C. area, joined the Marines after earning his master's degree at American University because he saw military service as a way to gain credibility and experience in his intended career in Middle Eastern affairs:
"He wanted to do foreign policy work," [friend Jeni] Spevak said, "and he wanted to do it for the Middle East, and he wanted to create peace in the Middle East."The Post says MacDonald was "a cerebral man with red hair and blue eyes who loved books and classical guitar and studied philosophy as an undergraduate (and) did not fit the classic profile of an enlisted Marine."
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Robert Seo grew up in Potomac, Maryland and attended the University of Maryland.
In 2000, after his freshman year of college, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. After
completing basic training in Parris Island, South Carolina, he served with Bravo Company,4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion as a reservist:
Gregory MacDonald and I served together in Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion prior to and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I considered Greg as part of my family because he was a fellow Marine
and especially because he was a member of Bravo Company. I talked to him on numerous occasions, mostly in passing, with the longest occurring just a couple days before his death. It was my shift to watch the vehicles outside on the ramp and I remember that the desert sun was especially hot that afternoon. I was surprised to see
Greg in his vehicle cleaning his 240E machine gun not only because the weapon itself was hot enough to burn his hand, but also because weapons maintenance was hardly on any other Marine's list of priorities at that time of day. I struck up a conversation with him and learned that he was actually older than he looked, had a Master's Degree
and had the desire to leverage his experience from the war to make a difference in the Middle East when he came back home. I don't remember how long the conversation lasted, but I came away from it thinking that in addition to being a stellar Marine, he was an intelligent, well-spoken and compassionate person. Like many others, I will never forget the day I heard the news of the accident. It was a Wednesday evening and the sun was on its way down. I had just gotten to the chow hall for dinner and a Marine rushed in and announced that Bravo Company was to report for formation immediately. We all forgot about trivial matters such as how hungry we were because at that
moment, we all knew without a doubt that bad news awaited us. We ran into formation, mostly quiet and somber and bracing for the news that was about to hit us. While 1st platoon was on its way to respond to an ambush, the dirt canal road
gave way and a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) had Fipped over. Several Marines were injured, and Greg MacDonald was killed. In the meantime, the sun had gone down and in the dark, we digested the worst news possible. Bravo Company was not
going home together as we had come. There are certain things that will always stand out in my mind from his ceremony in Iraq. Not a day goes by that I
don't recall the sinking feeling I got when Greg's rifle, bayonet fixed, was abruptly stabbed into the ground. My first instinct as a Marine was to cringe because a rifle should always be treated with respect and thus should never touch the ground, especially with its muzzle down. Then I felt even more uneasy. The full extent of the loss of Greg started to sink in at that moment because of the fact that he was not near his rifle. The entire time we were deployed, we kept our rifles within at least a few feet of our bodies and a weapon that was unaccompanied by its Marine was somewhat incomprehensible. When his weapon was surrounded by his empty boots, dog tags and
helmet, the reality had fully sunken in. I would never care to see so many grown men cry again.
Greg had so much potential and so many dreams that would never come to fruition. I had frequently heard throughout my life that I had so much potential, but that it was disappointing how I never put in the effort to fulfill it. I concluded that if I were to continue in the trajectory I was headed in and waste my talents away, I would be
letting Mac down, something I could not ever let happen.
Since his death, Greg has inspired me to live my life to my fullest potential
by relentlessly pursuing my goals. I was inspired to change my
major from something I had no interest in to one that I was passionate
about and in one that I excelled in. I was inspired to obtain a challenging
position in finance upon graduation from college. And most recently,
along with the training I received in the Marine Corps, I was
inspired to be prepared to persevere through mental and physical hardships
while training for and running the Ironman Triathlon in a foreign
country. I am honored to have served with Greg and all the others who
have dutifully served our country. Helping other veterans by raising
funds for Jericho in Greg's name is my way of saying thank you.
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