Juanson World

I was sitting at a in a bar in Lima last night chatting with two British friends when a young Peruvian-looking man leaned over and asked me in English, "Where are you all from?"

When I replied that I was American, he told me that he was also: he is a Marine corporal stationed outside of San Diego and was on a six-day leave to visit his fiancée. Almer was born in Lima but left Peru with his mother when he was five years old when she divorced his father and immigrated to the US.

He explained that despite only being 20 years old and not having seen his fiancée in months (he proposed to her over the phone), he is getting married for two reasons. First, he is supporting his mother with his salary from the Marine Corps, and getting married affords extra pay and benefits. Second, his fiancée is a family friend - he has known her since he was 12 years old - and the American citizenship that she will receive will allow her to carve out a better life for her in the US and for her family in Peru. "It's a good arrangement," he told me, cradling his fiancée in his arms. "Everyone wins."

I then asked Almer if he was going to be shipped abroad anytime soon. He told me that his unit was going to be deployed to Japan in October. "But its no big deal. I've already been to Iraq. And I came home with a Purple Heart."

Almer served as a Motor-T - a motor transportation operator - during his eight months in Iraq. While leading a convoy, an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) exploded under his Humvee and flipped the vehicle. He sustained permanent hearing damage and now wears a hearing aid.

I asked Almer how the Iraqis on the ground reacted to his presence as an American soldier. He described how young children often would throw rocks at his convoy. I asked him how that made him feel, and he replied matter-of-factly:

"I felt bad - I shot them. I killed probably 15 children. They could have been throwing grenades. I did not ask them to throw rocks. But as a Marine, my first responsibility is my men. I've got to get them home. They've got wives, children, brothers, sisters, families. But I felt bad."

These words stung as I heard them from someone who looked so young.

"I just hope we're in there for the right reasons," he added. "I'm just not sure. It seems it's all about money, about oil. But I do know one thing: when a Marine dies, he died for a reason. I know that if I died, it was for something."