Lance Cpl. Malarky Gene, a French/Creole linguist with Combat Logistics Battalion 22, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, and his son, sit at the battalion's command post in Petit Goave, Haiti, Jan. 28. Gene volunteered to go to Haiti after hearing the news about the Jan. 12 earthquake. Photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher Carroll

As Lance Cpl. Malarky Gene turned on the news Jan. 12, he couldn’t believe the horror that filled his eyes. Gene’s native country of Haiti was eclipsed in total chaos and confusion from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that, without prejudice, claimed victims by the thousands.

He immediately picked up the phone to call home … no answer. He kept trying, still no answer. There was no way to know if his mother, brother, wife, son, cousins and other relatives … almost his entire family … were alive or dead.

Born March 19, 1984, in the agricultural town of Leogane, Haiti, Gene, is a stout Haitian native with a muscular build and average height.

After his upbringing in Haiti, Gene’s father, who became a U.S. citizen, convinced him to move with him to New York in June 2005.

In May 2009 he returned to Haiti to marry his high school sweetheart, and the couple now have a two-year-old son.

Gene said he owes a lot to his father’s status as a U.S. citizen and the United States that gave him opportunities he would not have in Haiti.

“It was easy to go to school and take care of my family,” he said, in broken English with a French/Creole accent. “When I was in Haiti, I didn’t have a Job.”

His father who worked in the U.S., sent him money to go to school while he lived in Haiti, he added.

While living in Haiti, Gene watched with the world as the terrorist attack unfolded in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, where his father lived and worked.

“My father was working when the buildings fell,” Gene explained.

He said the attacks helped him decide to eventually join the U.S. military. In Nov. 2008, Gene enlisted in the Marine Corps as a food service specialist.

After attending Marine Corps Recruit Training at Parris Island, S.C., Gene went on serve with Food Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

That’s where he was when he found out about the earthquake in Haiti. From the beginning, his command pushed to have him deploy with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit as a linguist, to allow him to tend to his family, he explained.

“When they called me and asked, I said ‘Yeah, I volunteer to go,’” he said. “When I was on ship, I couldn’t wait to get off to help the people.”

Before leaving the United States, Jan. 16, aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bataan, Gene finally got in contact with his family in Haiti.

As the earthquake began, his wife and son were in their house watching television. When she felt the first tremors, his wife quickly grabbed their son and fled the house. Just as they exited the structure, the force of the massive earthquake collapsed the house, destroying everything they owned.

When Gene arrived in Petite Goave, Haiti, Jan. 24, his command gave his wife and son a tent to stay in at their compound and began working with the U.S. military legal system and U.S. State Department to get them transported to the U.S.

His wife and son are expected to fly from Haiti to the U.S. sometime in February.

Gene has assisted the 22nd MEU distribute over $1,000,000 in medical supplies, 40,000 rations and about 32,000 gallons of bottled and bulk water to the people of Haiti.

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. Christopher Carroll