[Vulture6]

Successful broker leaves Wall Street to join Corps, dies in Fallujah firefight
Submitted by: MCRD Parris Island
Story Identification #: 2004121611927
Story by Cpl. Matt Barkalow


Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel, a rifleman assigned to 1st Bn., 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was killed Nov. 19 in a firefight outside Fallujah, Iraq. Gavriel was a successful broker on Wall Street, but gave up his six-figure-a-year career to join the Marines at age 29, as the result of losing friends and co-workers from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. According to his drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. David Bauman, Gavriel said, 'this recruit didn't want to go his whole life knowing he did not make a difference.' Photo by: Official USMC photo

MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (Dec. 16, 2004) -- On Sept. 11, 2001, Dimitrios Gavriel was working as a stockbroker on Wall Street in New York City. After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Gavriel lost two of his friends and even more co-workers. It was a day that inspired him to make a change in career and in life.

According to www.militarycity.com, Gavriel, a native of Plaistow, N.H., was a wrestling champion and honor student who graduated from Timberlane Regional High School in 1993.

Gavriel earned a wrestling scholarship to Brown University, an Ivy League college, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He then went on to become a financial planner with Bank of America on Wall Street.

According to Capt. Roger Mahar, Depot assistant operations officer and visits officer, Gavriel's background is a testament of who he was as a person.

"When you factor in the academic level of any Ivy League school and competing in a Division I sport, and that he successfully completed both, you can imagine the type of person he was," said Mahar, an Albany, N.Y., native.

In October 2003, he decided it was time for him to leave his job making a six-figure salary to "make a difference" as he said, and arrived at Parris Island for recruit training.

"He felt that he had to do something for his family and friends that died, so he wanted to join the Marine Corps," said Mahar, who was Gavriel's series commander at the time.
Mahar said he saw the potential for Gavriel to become an officer and started working on a package for him to go through the Enlisted Commissioning Program.

However, Gavriel had a stumbling block in his attempt to become an officer.

"I saw him nearly [every] day in my office, working on his ECP package," Mahar said. "He was intelligent, articulate and physically fit and met all of the requirements for the Enlisted Commissioning Program, but he had three tattoos that were determined to be unacceptable to be a Marine officer. What is special about the tattoos is that each one represented a person he knew who had died in the 9-11 attacks."

According to Gunnery Sgt. David Bauman, senior drill instructor, Charlie Co., 1st RTBn., Gavriel was one of his recruits before he became a senior drill instructor, in Platoon 1002, Alpha Co., 1st RTBn.

"He was the scribe when I was the heavy for Platoon 1002," Bauman said. "Gavriel was very smart and serious about being a U.S. Marine, and one of the things I remember most about him was his ambition."

After graduating from recruit training in January 2004, 29-year-old Gavriel reported to the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he was trained as a rifleman. Upon graduation from SOI, he was assigned to 1st Bn., 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune.

When 1/8 was sent to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lance Cpl. Gavriel went as well. He was killed Nov. 19 during an intense firefight outside Fallujah.

Mahar said he was reading the Marine Corps Times newspaper when he came across his name as a casualty.

"I was saddened, but remembered that he was 'doing something' about 9-11," he said. "He truly cared about doing the right thing and died while doing it in Iraq. He has left a lasting impression on me that I will never forget. He has made me remember what a hero is and how they should be."

According to Bauman, Gavriel is an example of people who join the service to make a difference, not just because they have no other alternatives.

"Gavriel told me something one day, and I will never forget what he said, 'this recruit didn't want to go his whole life knowing he did not make a difference,'" said Bauman.

Bauman said he believes Gavriel knew he was doing the right thing and is a good example of someone putting service over self.

"He lived his life knowing he did the right thing," he said. "He knew if anything happened to him that people would remember why he did what he did. He died doing what he wanted to do - make a difference."