1st Lt. Andrew Grayson's Biography

Andrew is a 26 year old native of Springboro Ohio.  He was actively involved in community service, student council, and varsity sports while in high school.  Andrew was the class president of Springboro High School each year, as well as the student council president his senior year.  He went on to earn the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship for the University of Arizona.  It was at the University that he met his wife, Suzy, who is currently a medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.  He graduated in 2003 with a BS in Marketing from the UofA’s Eller College of Business. 

Upon graduating, Andrew was commissioned into the Marine Corps on May 16, 2003 as a 2^nd Lieutenant.  He excelled in his courses at The Basic School (USMC) and was selected to become a Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence  Officer.  Andrew served two, seven month deployments to Iraq, where he conducted counter-insurgency operations in and around the cities of Ramadi, Mahmudiyah, and Haditha.  In September of 2006, Andrew deployed for a third time to fight the war on terror in the Horn of Africa.  Just prior to this deployment, Andrew and Suzy were married in a small ceremony on the beach in North Carolina with both of their families.  On December 21 of 2006, Andrew was recalled from his forward deployed location in Africa to face the charges stemming from the Haditha Investigation. 

Andrew and Suzy have spent the past year traveling back and forth between Camp LeJeune, NC and Camp Pendleton, CA in order to be with their attorneys who are located in California.  Suzy took one year off from her medical studies in Arizona so she could be with Andrew as they fight the charges for his full acquittal.  On the week before Christmas, Andrew was ordered to report back to Camp Lejeune, NC.  Upon returning to North Carolina, Andrew learned that the charges were officially referred to a General Courts Martial by General Helland at Camp Pendleton on December 28.  Andrew remains at Camp LeJeune with his wife, separated from his California-based legal team at this important junction in the case.

Although this has been a very difficult year for Andrew and his family, they remain confident that, given a fair trial, Andrew will be proven innocent.