But his most significant source of comfort has been his year-long girlfriend.
“My girlfriend has been amazing and I regret putting her through this. She’s my girlfriend, my best friend, my confidant and I couldn’t be any luckier, considering the situation,” he said.
Taking a moment to look around at his now-barren room, Marinelarena shrugged with a soldier’s composure. “Things change,” he said.
Marinelarena is at least the second Harvard affiliate activated since Sept. 11.
Harvard University Police Department Patrolman Scot Green, a sergeant in the Marines reserve, was reactivated in the weeks following the 2002 attacks and is still on active duty at the Marine training facility in Quantico, Va.
—Staff writer Romina Garber can be reached at rgarber@fas.harvard.edu.