Earlier in September, five men found themselves having an interesting sort of alumni meeting. They are all United States Marines, swapping stories about games at Memorial Stadium, classes at Altgeld, and, of course, drinking at Joe's. They were, however, not rehashing old times over a football game or at the monthly alumni meeting; they are all deployed together in Iraq. First Lieutenants Carlos Chavez, Peter Pedraza, and Thomas Short and Captains Thomas Sibley and Brandon Tattersall were all attached to the Naval ROTC unit at the University of Illinois while remaining on active duty. They all studied together there and now find themselves together once again.
They are from left to right:
Capt. Brandon Tattersall (AB '00, history), Collections Officer with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing HQ Squadron 2 (MWHS-2); Capt. Thomas Sibley (AB '98, philosophy), Intelligence Officer with 3rd Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment (3/2); 1st Lt. Peter Pedraza (AB '01, linguistics), Aviation Maintenance Officer with Heavy Marine Helicopter Squadron 465 (HMH-465); 1st Lt. Carlos Chavez (AB '01, Spanish linguistics), CH-53E Helicopter Pilot with Heavy Marine Helicopter Squadron 466 (HMH-466); and 1st Lt. Thomas Short (AB '01, history), AH-1W Helicopter Pilot with Helicopter, Marine/Light Attack Squadron 167 (HML/A-167).
This note was submitted by Annemarie Pedraza, wife of Peter Pedraza and a U. of I. graduate in the College of Education.
