Photo By Sgt. Nathaniel Cray | Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Roughan, the services officer in charge for Marine...... read more read more
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NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia – Marines on deployment wipe their brows and breathe sighs of relief as they walk into the air conditioned building that is the Robertson Barracks Post Exchange in Darwin, Australia. As their eyes begin to adjust to the indoor light, they are greeted by a boisterous New York accent coming from a tall figure with a wide grin.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Roughan, the Marine Rotational Force’s services officer in charge, leads the only Marine Corps Exchange in Australia.
Roughan’s eyes begin to squint and his head tilts back as he reminisces about his childhood.
“I got good at running as a kid because of the ice cream man,” said Roughan. “I would yell ‘Mom, ice cream!’ and my mom would throw a dollar down from the window. By the time it reached the ground the ice cream man would be two blocks away so I had to run a couple blocks to catch him.”
“I came from a broken home,” said Roughan, a Flushing, New York native. “I never had a sense of belonging and always felt like an outsider. When I came to the Marine Corps I felt like part of a family.”
A first generation American, Roughan has served over 20 years in the Marine Corps.
“I love taking care of other people,” said Roughan. “My job now is like being the ice cream man. When I was a kid and that guy came around, it was like Santa Clause coming to town.”
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2017 04:27 |
| Story ID: | 228402 |
| Location: | DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AU |
| Hometown: | FLUSHING, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 554 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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