MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Graduation from recruit training marks the end of the beginning for new Marines. For most, Sept. 15 was a day of joy, but for one Marine it was also a day of sadness. Private First Class Christina Gavriel graduated to begin her new life as a Marine in search of answers.
Christina's brother, Lance Cpl. Dimiterios Gavriel, spent the last year of his life as a Marine machine gunner with 1st Division, 8th Marines, Bravo Company. At the age of 29, Dimiterios was killed in Iraq on Nov. 19, 2004.
"I wanted to pick up where my brother left off," said Christina. "I wanted to know what the last year of his life was like."
Dimiterios had always wanted to serve in the military and said the Marines were the best, she added.
"My brother was an equity analyst on Wall Street," she said, with a look of pride as she spoke of him. "He lost two close friends in the World Trade Center. He lost his job during the summer of [2002], then decided to re-evaluate his life."
Christina said her brother thought the war was a worthy cause, since his friends were killed.
"He told us he was going into logistics," said Christina. "We found out he was a machine gunner when they called and told my mom he was killed."
Sergeant James Mulak, Parris Island field training instructor, who served in Iraq with Dimiterios, sat down to dinner with the Gavriel family to explain what happened to Dimiterios the night of his death.
In the midst of clearing a house for a place to stay for the night, there was an ambush and Dimiterios was shot by an insurgent, explained Mulak.
"I had to draw the layout of how things happened for [Christina's] dad," he said. "It was hard telling them what happened, because I had to relive the whole moment again."
When Christina found out about her brother's death, she was working as a pharmacist in Manhattan, N.Y.
"I decided to take some time off to re-evaluate my life, just like my brother did," said Christina.
After choosing to enlist in the Marine Corps, Christina had to tell her parents.
"I told my dad I was going to dance with the devil," she said smiling. "I wanted to experience what my brother went through and try to piece together the last year of his life."
It would also be a breath of fresh air, Christina added. She knows her professional job will always be there.
Christina decided to become an administrative clerk, because of her desire to keep her professional life and her military life separate.
After Christina arrived on Parris Island, it took three weeks for Mulak and Sgt. Kenneth Hayden, Parris Island field training instructor, who also knew Dimiterios, to find out Christina was in recruit training.
"We found out right before she came out [to Paige Field]," said Mulak.
"We were amazed that she had decided to come to recruit training after everything with her brother," said Hayden.
"It was awkward seeing her, because you can't just go up to a recruit and start talking to them," said Mulak. "We just made it a point to ask her how she was doing every time we saw her."
Mulak and Hayden were amazed at how much Christina looked and acted like her brother.
As a lance corporal, Dimiterios was more mature than his peers, partly because he was a lot older than most lance corporals, said Hayden.
Mulak agreed and said he saw the same traits in Christina compared to other recruits.
"She wasn't the everyday recruit," said Mulak, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "You could tell she cared about what she was doing and that she was here for a reason."
Mulak and Hayden believe Christina will be an excellent Marine, just like they thought her brother was.
"[Christina] will probably know her job better than other Marines in her [military occupational specialty], because she won't slack off," Mulak said. "Her brother knew his job better than other Marines and was constantly learning more."
"I think she will be the same way," he added. "She has the memory of her brother pushing her."
Mulak and Hayden attended Christina's Eagle, Globe and Anchor ceremony, marking her transition from recruit to Marine.
"I was humbled by the situation," said Mulak. "You could tell she was grateful we were there. It was the support she needed."
Christina was happy to be finished with recruit training and moving forward with her Marine Corps career, but still thought of her brother and the special bond only a brother and sister share.
"I'm not really following him, I'm keeping his memory alive," said Gavriel with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.