[USMCRET6391]

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (July 14, 2006) -- "My friends said I couldn't do it - that I was too short, and the Marine Corps would tear me apart," said Pfc. Matthew Pielmeier.

The 4-foot-9-inch Altoona, Pa., native might appear diminutive in stature, but his spirit and resilience abound.

"I was in 7th grade when I found out that I had a growth hormone deficiency, and I would be short for the rest of my life," said Pielmeier, a traffic management specialist with Camp Hansen's Traffic Management Office. "Since then it's been an uphill struggle."

Since age 7, Pielmeier wanted to join the military as a fighter pilot. Almost 10 years later, military recruiters told him he didn't meet the physical requirements.

The turn down was nothing new to Pielmeier. Throughout his youth, he was often picked last in sports and teased about his height, so Pielmeier turned the rejection into motivation.

According to Pielmeier's mother, Teresa Minnoia, his motivation has always been proving people wrong.

"He's hard headed," she said. "If you tell him he can't do something, he'll stop at nothing until it's done."

On Feb. 23, 2005, Pielmeier arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., with a height waiver, and started his journey towards becoming a Marine.

"He was the shortest male recruit I have ever seen come through the depot," said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Morgan, one of Pielmeier's drill instructors. "He never looked for any special treatment. I did seven cycles, saw about 400 recruits, and Pielmeier had more heart than any of them."

The challenge of Marine Corps recruit training was complete May 2005. However, Pielmeier discovered something that December that could put what he had worked so hard to achieve in jeopardy.

"I injured my leg during (physical training)," Pielmeier said. "When I went to medical, the doctors told me that I had multiple exostoses."

Multiple exostoses is a rare skeletal disorder characterized by multiple bony growths on the surface of a bone or tooth.

Pielmeier was sent to a specialist at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, in February for his first series of operations to remove the growths.

"They removed a piece of bone the size of a baseball from my knee," he said. "It hurt, but it's worth it. I can't imagine not being able to play sports."

Throughout the next few years, he will have operations on his shoulders, hips and ankles.

Pielmeier says he wants to continue his career as a Marine, and he'll do everything he can in order to stay in.

"This condition is another problem that I'll conquer," Pielmeier said. "This is one more thing that will make me stronger.