Aug. 8, 2010
Marine finds a future after falling apart
Supporters help him out of addiction, into success
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
MIDLAND -- Going from combat camo and Kevlar armor as a Marine in the Middle East to an orange jumpsuit, chains and shackles as a defendant back home was a hellacious four-month journey for Andrew Tetloff.
"We got off that bus, and there was all this screaming and cheering," Tetloff recalled of the parade he and his comrades received in Lansing after returning from their deployment. "It was one of the best moments of my life -- if not the best."
That was late April 2007, and Lance Cpl. Tetloff, of Charlie Company, 1/24th U.S. Marine Reserves, was home after seven months in the middle of violent Fallujah, Iraq.
"Then it was, 'OK, you're done,' " now what? he said.
By early September 2007, scared, strung out on opiates and struggling to readjust to life stateside, a 22-year-old Tetloff was snatching money from startled customers at a Midland ATM. Quickly arrested, he immediately owned up to the crimes and soon stood ashamed before a Midland County judge, pleading guilty and accepting the blame and punishment.
Tetloff's story is not a cautionary tale of a good Marine gone bad. It is, instead, a story of one young man's struggles, his rebound and his unusual allies.
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Marine finds a future after falling apart
RELATED INFORMATION
Reconnecting with Band of Brothers
They've become cops, rebuilt businesses, trained allies overseas, gone to school, re-enlisted and returned to quiet civilian lives.
With today's article, the Free Press begins an occasional series reconnecting with Michigan's Band of Brothers -- all Marine Reserves -- their families and friends who shared their lives with readers and online viewers.
Throughout their 2006-07 deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, the Free Press followed the men and families of the 1/24th Marine Reserves through combat, holidays, struggles, triumphs, memorials and homecomings with written stories and videos.
The stories of Michigan's Band of Brothers were honored with a national Emmy for current events.
In the weeks and months ahead, the Free Press will be presenting some of those same men and their families as they are today.
Joe Swickard
Read more: Marine finds a future after falling apart freep.com Detroit Free Press Reconnecting with Band of Brothers
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