Rory Dalgleish
Corporal, United States Marine Corps
May 24, 1990 – September 29, 2013
Age – 23
Lake Orion, MI
Operation Enduring Freedom
2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, Camp Lejeune, NC
CPL Dalgleish became “A 22 A Day” on September 29, 2013
Corporal Dalgliesh was a graduate of Lake Orion High School and a member of St. Mary’s in the Hills Episcopal Church.
Janice said her son was young when he went into the military and married at an early age. “His marriage didn’t work out after a year,” she said. “That made him upset. These boys go into the military when they are 18. They experience so much in other countries that doesn’t happen here. Rory turned 21 in Afghanistan.”
Like others, Rory struggled with injuries and later life transitions, even though he was still in the military, she said.
“The brain doesn’t fully develop until a person is about 26 years old,” Janice said. “So you have these soldiers who served for several years and when they get out, they don’t know what they will do. They don’t know how to fit in. They don’t know how to get help for any post traumatic stress. They aren’t reminded that some of the vaccinations they received to be in other countries can’t be mixed with other drug combinations once they get out of the service. The military doesn’t give them help to transition from the daily routines of service to everyday life and its pressures.”
Rory was one of my Marines while I was a Platoon Commander for 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, Wounded Warrior Battalion East at Camp Lejeune. Rory was a Marine who truly loved his fellow Brothers in Arms. He always was smiling; always in a good mood. His smile was infectious. I have personally lost too many friends and Marines at such a young age. It breaks my heart. I pray Rory’s family finds peace, and know Rory is standing tall with his brothers at the pearly gates of heaven, and will forever be looking down on them.
Christian Wuellner
His Marine brother Ian Nuccio remembered Rory – “Returning home after serving in Afghanistan, Ian Nuccio quickly realized he wouldn’t see the soldiers who had his back during the toughest times of his life.
He wouldn’t trade stories as each other’s brother’s keepers inside the platoon anymore. After five years in the Marines, Nuccio returned home in 2014. Despite having a great family, he felt alone. One year had past since his 23-year-old friend Rory Dalgliesh, a Lance Corporal in the Marines, took his own life at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
“Rory and I were deployed at the same time. We trained together. Rory was always in a good mood. When times were hard, he was the epitome of smiling through the misery. He was a ham. Then we were sent to different parts of Afghanistan. It was really hard I found out he died. Rory was a warrior, a brother and a friend. When you are in the military, you can spend years with people who are with you day in and day out through the worse times. When you lose one of those friends, during combat or when they leave, it sucks. Then when you go home those people who you were with and considered your brothers aren’t there anymore, there’s loneliness. While most who served in the military don’t “broadcast” they are lonely or want to talk, it’s okay to reach out to them.”
Written by: Mike Dalgliesh
I watched over a child of mine; grow to be a proud Marine.
He safely returned from a war; to which I thank God for.
I did so love, respect my boy; forced now to know his mind did destroy.
Combat related they surely will deny; but we all know it’s due to PTSD/TBI.
Oh, but how I do miss him so; far too young, considering he was a hero.
To walk this land with ‘brothers’ and friend; professing courage, commitment to the end.
Farewell my son, farewell to your loyalty; your love, respect, devotion and clan trinity.
Torn is my heart, light of my light, I do so cry; gone to angles, forever young, Semper Fi.