Wellma rare sight for Iraqi soldiers – U.S. Marine helps renovate army base

By JAMES CLARK

Members of the Iraqi army don?t get to see many women. So when they caught a glimpse of Warren County High School graduate Victoria Wellman walking around their base, cameras were quick to follow.

?They?re very amazed by females out here,? said Wellman, a corporal with the United States Marines.

Wellman, 20, has been in Iraq since July, but it?s been her latest assignment that has really attracted attention. As a member of the 9th Engineer Support Battalion Marines, Wellman was among a group of soldiers that renovated a remote Iraqi army base earlier this month.

Many of these Iraqi bases have deplorable living conditions, thus contributing to the Iraqi army?s desertion problem. The base Wellman helped renovate is composed of six underground bunkers that are reminiscent of old fallout shelters.

The bunkers aren?t much more elaborate than holes. They are dark, damp and depressing. Soldiers are packed together and sleep in bunk beds. The only natural light comes from tiny box windows at the top of the walls.

Wellman was among the Marines who did extensive wiring work to add indoor lighting, heat and air conditioning. ?I froze the first night,? said Wellman, who stayed in a bunker as it was being renovated.

Wellman is scheduled to remain in Iraq until the end of March then spend two more months in Japan before returning to Warren County for a month in June. That?s welcome news for her mother, Sherry Wellman, who is eager to see her daughter.

?I haven?t seen her in two years,? said Sherry. ?But I?m proud of what she?s doing. I kept encouraging her to work toward a good life and a good career and she?s done an outstanding job.?

Sherry says the chance for her daughter to have a promising career is the reason why she signed the papers for her to join the Marines as a 17-year-old fresh out of high school. After traveling to several parts of the world, Sherry doesn?t expect her daughter to embrace small-town living.

?She told me she didn?t know if she?d ever come back to live in McMinnville,? said Sherry.

As for her daughter?s safety, Sherry said, ?There?s not a night that goes by I don?t pray about it.?

Victoria?s father, Bruce, served four years in the Marines. She also has a brother, Daniel, who is an 11th-grader at WCHS.