SSgt  Mark H. Graunke Jr

SSgt Mark H. Graunke, Jr. was born 13 April 1978 in Raleigh, NC. While attending high school in 1996, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.   After completing boot camp at MCRD San Diego and MCT at Camp Pendleton he was sent to 29 Palms, CA and then Fort Gordon, GA for MOS training.  After completing three separate courses he was assigned to Wire Platoon, ELMACO, 2nd Maint Bn, 2nd FSSG as a Cryptographic Technician with a secondary MOS of Micro Miniature Repair Technician and attained the rank of Lance Corporal and was eventually meritoriously promoted to the rank of Corporal.   He also served on the Battalion Color Guard as a rifle guard and then later as the bearer of the Marine Corps flag. He was assigned to the 26th MEU but was then reassigned for MSG duty.

 After graduating from Marine Security Guard School in September of 1999 he was sent to Karachi, Pakistan.
 In addition to being a basic MSG he held many additional billets such as Mess NCO, Training NCO, acting React NCO, and acting Assistant Detachment Commander. When he was not guarding the Consulate he very was active in the local community. He was the American Team Captain for the Karachi Olympics in 2000, helped organize fundraising efforts for a local orphanage, served as an ACEAK general board member and later became the Vice Chairman, and was the Color Guard Commander for the 4th of July ceremony at the Consul General's Residence.

In November of 2000, he was sent to Almaty, Kazakhstan as the Assistant Detachment Commander where he stayed until his time as a Marine Security Guard was finished in March of 2002. While stationed in Almaty, he was sent to Germany to compete in the “A” Company MSG of the year competition and tied for 1st place. He helped organize a move from one house to another for the MSGs stationed in Almaty. And he was sent to Astana, Kazakhstan as the Marine Detachment Commander during a Secretary of State visit. He reenlisted to be an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician on 10 November 2001.

After completing EOD School in November of 2002 he was sent to 1st EOD Platoon, 7th ESB, 1st FSSG. He was deployed in January of 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was promoted to the rank of SSgt in April 2003. During the war he served as an EOD team member in direct support of 5th Battalion, 11th Marines. After the war was considered over he served as the Assistant Team Leader in Karbala, Iraq. He was severely injured on 2 July 2003 while working on a piece of US ordnance that failed to function as designed. He lost his left eye, left hand, thumb and index finger of his right hand, and eventually made the decision to have his right leg amputated above the knee. He was medically retired from active duty 31 August 2004.

SSgt Graunke’s military decorations include the Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a Combat “V”, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment, Overseas Service, Marine Security Guard Ribbon, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

SSgt Graunke and his wife Len have been married since 16 March 2002.