IN THE NEWS - U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcco Ware, 20, carries an injured Iraqi soldier who was shot three times during an ambush of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment convoy Tuesday in central Iraq. Associated Press

Marine's picture gives joy to family

By RICH BREAULT
Valley Press Senior Staff Writer

The photo showed her 20-year-old son, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcco Ware, carrying a wounded Iraqi soldier who had been shot three times during the attack on the 3rd Marine Battalion, 5th Regiment convoy.

"I was so excited to see him alive and well," Worsham said. "The last time I saw him was Feb. 7, when he deployed from Camp Pendleton. I felt blessed that day.

"Marcco went into the Marines with his head held high. He is proud to serve his country. I told him, 'Stay strong, do what you have to do, and do what you're taught. Mom loves you and will pray for you every day.' "

Worsham, who moved to Lancaster from Los Angeles in September, said her son graduated from Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, where he played football and track.

"He got good grades and was always very popular," Worsham said, "He discussed going into the Marines with his family. It's something he wanted to do and believed would help him find direction and focus in his life."

Caroline Ware of Los Angeles, who married Marcco on New Year's Day 2002, also found reason to celebrate when she saw his photo. She and her mother-in-law were interviewed Wednesday by a news crew from NBC Los Angeles.

"I'm still walking on cloud nine. I was so worried about him," Ware said. "The last time I talked with him he said he couldn't tell me what was going on, but I received information from some of the wives that his unit was in between Basra and Baghdad.

"I get the jitters when I watch the news from Iraq. It sort of draws you in. I keep thinking the next shot I see will be of my husband as a POW, wounded or killed. Once I start watching the news I can't pull myself away."

Ware said she listens closely for details and key words that may give her any information on her husband's unit.

"I appreciate all the technology that allows us to see what is happening over there," Ware said. "It puts me in touch with what Marcco is doing.

"I think it's a blessing. I would rather be informed than be in the dark."

Worsham said his family is behind him "100%."

"He made a choice to go into the Marines, and this is what he wants to do. He believes in it," Worsham said. "When a child goes to war, it's also a hard thing for a parent to go through.

"I watch the news of the war, and sometimes it gets to be too much, so I have to turn (the television) off. I try to stay busy with my day-to-day routine. It keeps me going and keeps my mind off the war."

Worsham said Marcco's siblings, ranging in age from 6 to 13, "are really too young to understand the war, although they watch it on TV."

"They only know that it's a war," Worsham said. "And that their brother is over there. All I know is that seeing Marcco's picture was a big relief for all of us."