Monday - April 26, 2004
Broken Warriors but Unbroken Marines
I visited five severely wounded Marines at Brook
Army Medical Center yesterday. They were in a firefight in Fallujah, Iraq a
short time earlier. I don't know the official version and only got a few snips
of what happened from these men. The gist of the story is that they were in
amphibious tractors driving through Fallujah and were attacked. They fought
incredibly bravely even after one tractor was disabled. After towing it out of
the way, it was hit again and caught fire.
One
or more Marines were killed, and these five were wounded severely enough to be
evacuated back to the US, but the Marines did not leave their dead comrade
behind and came back with a vengeance and retrieved the disabled and burning
amtrak and killed many enemy in the process. From the little pieces I heard, I
hope that many Marines are given medals for their bravery.
But I was struck by more than their
bravery. These five Marines, most of them with permanent disfigurations, were
enthusiastic about being there, and behaving in the highest traditions of the
Marine Corps. Meeting them brought a huge lump to my throat.
One Marine in the most serious condition was
sedated and being tended to by intensive care unit personnel and by his family
(one of whom was a nurse/captain in the army I believe) received us with so much
grace. The First Sergeant that was with us did most of the talking and when he
said something particularly noteworthy, this good corporal would fidget and
squirm and try to sit up and with difficulty he would respond "Roger that!"
The lieutenant being treated for some
burns on his upper arm while we talked reported to us on the condition of each
of the others even though he was just removed from intensive care himself the
day before. He was a Marine officer and he knew he was the senior patient
present among the Marines and he went out of his way to learn how each one was
doing. Of course no one expects a severely injured officer to do anything
except recuperate, but he knew that if it was possible for him to keep informed,
then he felt an obligation to make sure his Marines were being well cared for.
He shared the most details of the battle with us. Of course, our role as
visitors wasn't to extract tales from him, but he enjoyed telling us what
happened and we enjoyed hearing his account. A striking part of how he told his
story is that he only used the word "I" when he said, "and after I got hit I
couldn't move any more and became useless." His understated story made it clear
to me that what he wasn't telling us is how much he was leading and directing
the battle and how much his Marines thought of him by counter attacking to
retrieve him and his vehicle.
One young
corporal in the least serious condition was mobile and when we came to his ward
he came out in the hallway on crutches to meet us, I assume to let his fellow
warders get rest. He was the most impressive. He was only a corporal, but he
too gave a full account of each of the other Marines' status. His upbeat and
professional demeanor made me realize that our Marines are too good to ever
fail.
Okay, I may have the story
details wrong, but these are brave men and their wrecked bodies will forever
etch in my mind a drive to get into this war and fight with them. The Marine
Corps instills a warrior spirit in their Marines, but even more importantly
Marines know that the most important part of being a Marine is to take care of
their fellow Marines. These men no longer had whole bodies, but they never
abandoned their identity and esprit for that which makes Marines special. We
were there to cheer them up, but they ended up inspiring us.
I was moved more than I can explain.
Every American should meet these five Marines.
I only regret that there are some
Marines that had their lives taken that I can never meet. I never want to
forget that my freedom, my life, and my country exist only because they went
into harm's way for us.
Go Back to the Start, Do Not Collect $200 Send me your two cents
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