By Nicole Falco
Becoming a Marine was a dream O'Reilly had since he was 12 years old, his parents said. He poured through information about the Marines and consumed book after book to learn what the Marines were all about.
"When he said that's what he wanted to do at 12 or 13 years old, we thought, 'Oh, he's got plenty of time to change his mind," O'Reilly's mom, Maryanne, said.
O'Reilly, 19, remained steadfast to his desire to be a Marine and enlisted in the delayed-entry program in July 2001.
"He knows what he wants," said the soldier's dad, Stephen. "How many guys at his age know what they want? Very few."
O'Reilly trained throughout his senior year to make sure he was ready for the arduous physical tests he would be put through in boot camp. His training paid off: O'Reilly was named the Iron Man among the 300 recruits he trained with.
After graduating boot camp, O'Reilly completed additional training in electronics at Twentynine Palms, California. Following that training, Pfc. Michael O'Reilly was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, which is stationed in Iraq. However, by the time O'Reilly completed his specialty training on March 26, the Marines determined that the battalion did not need additional troops.
For now O'Reilly is stationed in Camp Pendleton, California, where he awaits deployment orders. His parents were relieved to get the call from their son that he would not be going overseas for the time being.
"I had been waiting by the phone for that call," his mother said. "He was ready. He was actually a little disappointed."
The weeks prior to receiving the reassuring phone call just before the holidays were "terrible, wondering whether he was going to go" or not, Maryanne said.
However, O'Reilly enjoys a challenge, according to his mom, and his dad said his son actually told him he was getting "bored" at Camp Pendleton.
"These Marines want to be with their troop, but it was perfect timing for me," Maryanne said.
O'Reilly joined the Marines with his friend and fellow Central graduate, Dominic Castiello, now stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Jerome De Blasio, another friend who is a year older, is also a Marine. De Blasio is stationed in Iraq.
The O'Reillys, including mom, dad, Stephen, 21, and Patrick, 14, hope to be able to see their son over the summer since the war with Iraq has been winding down in recent weeks. If they do see him, it will mark only the third time they've seen him since he graduated high school.
"I asked him after training was done, 'How do you really feel about this?' and he said, 'I really like what I'm doing," Maryanne said. "That's all I really wanted to hear."
