Conn. native survives volcano eruption, builds new future in Corps

Photo By Sgt. Jeff Drew | Avon, Conn., native Staff Sgt. Ian Llera, the governance chief for the Civil-Military Operations section of 2nd Marine Division (Forward), grew up on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where he was responsible for growing vegetables and rice for his family. Electricity was rare and he had little exposure to television and radio until he moved to Los Angeles to be with his father in 1991, after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.  

CAMP LEATHERNECK, HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

10.28.2011

Story by Cpl. Jeff Drew 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Afghanistan – It was a simple life for Ian Llera growing up in the farmland of central Luzon, an island in the Philippines. If he needed to get anywhere, he walked; if he wanted food, he would help grow what the family needed to survive. He harvested rice and vegetables to grace the dinner table and tended to the ducks, cows and water buffalo to help provide for his family. His father traveled to Los Angeles and his mother to Canada to earn money for their children, leaving primary responsibility of Llera and his two siblings to his older sister. For fourteen years he lived like this, until everything changed one day.

The second largest volcano eruption of this century rocked the small island of Luzon June 15, 1991, setting in motion events that would lead Llera to his destiny.

“It is an experience I will never forget,” said the 33-year-old as his thoughts drifted into the past. “[The eruption] turned noon into midnight. It rained ashes, and mud flows screamed down the mountains. It was raining ashes non-stop for two days. We braved it out trying to clear the roof of our apartment because we had 12 inches of ash.”

Llera lived only 15 miles from the base of the volcano, Mount Pinatubo. After the eruption, he expedited a journey to join his father in the United States, and the 14-year-old boy started a new life in Los Angeles in 1991. He had taken fundamental English classes while growing up, so he had a head start, but Llera said moving from a place where he walked everywhere to L.A., where he needed a car, was difficult. He came from a place where electricity was rare, television and phones uncommon. It was a different world, a dynamic culture shock, but Llera said he was able to adjust.
He travelled to Avon, Conn., in 1996 to live with his cousins and finish his senior year of high school. He worked at a grocery store as a bagger, cashier and assistant manager while finishing school. He realized, for him, there was no future working there – he wanted more.

A friend who had recently returned from Marine Corps recruit training talked to Llera about the benefits of joining the Marine Corps, and in May 1998, Llera was on a bus headed for the yellow footprints to see if he had what it takes to be a Marine.

“My upbringing definitely set me up for success in the Marine Corps,” said Llera, a 1997 Avon High School graduate. “It gave me a higher appreciation for the things I have now. I grew up on a farm, and we had nothing back then. [Now] I am able to provide for my family, [provide] the things I never had when I was young.”

Since earning the title of United States Marine, Llere has been on four deployments as a Motor Transport operator. He sailed the Pacific with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, traveled to Ramadi, Iraq, and in 2010 he was hand-picked for a humanitarian mission to provide aid for Central American countries. Upon returning, he immediately began preparing for his current year-long deployment as the governance chief for the Civil-Military Operations section with 2nd Marine Division (Forward).

“We listen to the needs of the local populace and try to make their living [conditions] better,” said Llera. “We take their input and try to improve the daily living of the entire community. We attend [meetings] with key leaders and [assist local government officials] establish projects like paved roads, refurbishing or building schools and district centers, and provide humanitarian assistance.”

Llera’s time in Afghanistan is drawing to a close, as he is expected to return to the United States early next year, when he will prepare to work for the Motor Transport Instruction School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

“He is a great guy, a great Marine and he has totally immersed himself in the governance position,” said Stow, Ohio, native Maj. Andrew Foreman, the operations officer for CMO. “He’s going to be going to the schoolhouse to teach Marines about [motor transportation]. That’s where he needs to be – in front of Marines, instructing Marines. I hope to work with him in the future. He’s been great on the deployment, and when he leaves, we’ll feel his loss.”

Editor’s note: Second Marine Division (Forward) heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Force and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.

• Date Taken: 10.28.2011
• Date Posted: 10.28.2011 12:32
• Story ID: 79199
• Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, HELMAND PROVINCE, AF