This is so sad, Maria must have been so scared living in these conditions.
She was only 18, just a baby herself. It sounds like she did not get allot of
support from her family. And I am sure that as a naive 18yr old in a mans
world allot of what she said was ignored. It does not seem like she had anyone to turn to for support and when you add the fact that she was pregant to this I am sure she must have felt overwhelmed and scared. I could not see my daughter at 18 leaving home and joining the military. It
does not sound like she was emotionally mature enough to join the Marines.
I wonder if she joined to escape family pressures. So very sad.