U.S. AIR FORCE
TSGT
11/15/2003
This is a reflection about TSGT Maiorana written mostly by Katherine Maiorana: I am a military widow of almost 10 years. My name is Katherine Maiorana, the proud widow of Technical Sergeant Mark Maiorana of the U.S. Air Force.
TSGT Maiorana was born on September 20, 1966. Mark was a dedicated husband and father. He loved spending time with his 3 children and was anticipating the birth of his fourth child. He enjoyed fishing and ballgames with the children.
Mark did his last tour in Iraq. He came from the war broken. He suffered from PTSD and lost his battle with his demons November 15, 2003. He was one of the first from this war to commit suicide. I was 11 weeks pregnant. He never got to meet his youngest daughter.
For his father from a son.
This is a paper my son wrote about his dad for Memorial Day 2012. I think it captures Mark perfectly: Mark Thomas Maiorana was a very kind soul. He often put others before himself. Family was his main priority. Mark loved to travel and show his kids the world. He always had his SCUBA gear in his truck. He was always ready to go to the lake or head to the coast for fishing and snorkeling.
He loved spending time with his kids. You could come into our house any given night and find Mark playing Spiderman or GI Joes with the boys. Once Maddie came along he was never far from her. Those two were thick as thieves. When we found out that Katie was on the way, Mark was on cloud nine.
Mark served in the United States Air force for seventeen years. In that time he was stationed in a wide variety of different locations. He was everywhere from Germany to North Korea, to Guam. He did several tours in the Middle East, and fought in Desert Storm. His last tour was in Iraq where he participated in the Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Even though he was far away he always wrote our family letters, asking how we were, how the kids were doing in school, and I kept every letter. He would send us pictures of him with his fellow soldiers, and in every single one of them there was his radiant smile.
Even after his death his legacy lives on, in his two daughters, and the experiences he passed on to the boys. He taught to be kind, loving, and to always care for your family no matter how crazy they are. We miss you and love you Mark.