Shaggy, US Marines, 1988-1992/3

Orville Richard Burrell (Shaggy) , Musician

b. 22 Oct. 1968 – d.    
US Marines, 1988-1992, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm 

At age 18, Orville Burrell, nicknamed "Shaggy" by his friends, moved from Kingston Jamaica to NYC to join his mother in Brooklyn. In 1988, he joined the US Marine Corps. Stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he continued to pursue music in his free time, and often made the drive back to New York for recording sessions. In 1991, he found himself serving in Saudi Arabia as a Field Artillery Cannon Crewman in the 5th Battalion, 10th Marines during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

There’s not a lot of information out there about Shaggy’s time in the service, but we do know Shaggy was not exactly a model marine. He describes to the Military Times in a 2011 interview,

"The highest rank I got was lance corporal. My big problem was being AWOL. I was driving up to New York every weekend to do music," he told Military Times in a 2011 feature story. "Sometimes I got back late. And I'm a guy with a big mouth, and I mouthed off a lot. So, you know, things like that will get you busted."

He was known within his ranks for his unique marching cadences and evidently his time wasn’t wasted … he did release a hit album upon his release with the smash hit “Oh, Carolina”. No doubt his time in North Carolina had an impact on him!