Marine Corporal Daniel MacMurray at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1982. Photo courtesy Cynthia Alvarez.

Seventeen years ago, Cynthia Alvarez fell in love with Marine Corporal Daniel Mark MacMurray. She was a peace activist, and he was a proud Marine veteran and firefighter, and the two didn’t always see eye to eye.  But they agreed to love each other. And they did just that, until Dan became sick and died. 

Cynthia came to StoryCorps to remember him.

Cynthia Alvarez and her daughter, Isabela Alvarez, at their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia on April 27, 2024. By Alan Jinich for StoryCorps.

This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Originally aired May 25, 2024, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.