Athenae, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq

Life During Wartime

Married and shipping out:

Two 19-year-olds are the first couple to be married in a civil ceremony in Cook County in 2010.

Janette Diaz of Schererville, Ind., and Jeremy Rodriguez ofChicago
said their vows at 9:30 a.m. with County Clerk David Orr presiding.
Rodriguez, a U.S. Marine who has already served one tour of duty in
Iraq and will be doing a tour in Afghanistan in 2011, leaves Monday for
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The couple arrived for their marriage at 6 a.m., well before the office opened at 9 a.m.

A.

6 thoughts on “Life During Wartime”

  2. I always wonder about these very young couples where one is in the military and is shipping out — are they pretty muchexpecting that the military one won’t come back, and they just want society’s approval, or what? And yes, I think 19 isvery young to get married these days — I think my parents were pretty young, at 21 and 23 respectively.
    Otherwise, what happens when he gets back and he’s not the man she married, and/or what happens when they both hit their 30s? Getting married in a rush at 19 seems like a stupid waste of money — getting divorced is expensive.

  3. I’d think that the number of military personnel getting married just before one of them ships out has always been fairly high compared to their peers. It doesn’t mention whether they have or are expecting a child — which wouldn’t be all that unusual for a coupld that had been together for a while (presumably since before his first deployment). And if they did have a child, it would make it all the more important that they get married so she’d be a legal beneficiary.
    It wouldn’t be all that out-of-whack for them to have a kid, either. Theoverall birth rate for women ages 18 and 19 is about 7.5%. That’s a lot higher percentage than, for instance, someone joining the military. And given that their names are Diaz and Rodriguez, and that the Hispanic birth rate for women 18 & 19 is about 13%, it makes that even more likely.
    On the other hand, they might just be in love.

  4. Unless they’re married, Ms. Diaz has zero rights as far as the USMC is concerned. SGLI (life insurance), health-care coverage, on-base privileges, you name it.

  5. Amazing. Everybody here is trying to figure out why they got married, not considering the tragedy represented by his being forced to a second overseas tour at 19.
    Amazing.

  6. Sarah, yes, that is amazing. Also amazing is that it is only through stories like this that we can even tell that “we are at war”. Frankly, we aren’t at war. It is the young men and women who signed up for the military who are at war. The rest of us just go on with our lives, rarely even giving it a second thought. Heaven forbid that we have to sacrifice anything – except the family and friends of those who are casualties, who make the ultimate sacrifice. Oh, excuse me, I see a cats grin up in the tree and I’m late for a tea party.

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