thedrifter
11-22-03, 06:02 AM
Brotherhood rallies around paralyzed OIF veteran
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031121181113
Story by Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Sgt. Jason S. Wittling sits in his house staring out his window. His children play outside and he longs to be out there with them. He turns and looks at the Marine Corps memorabilia hanging on his walls and thinks back to the day he thought he'd collect 20 years' worth of plaques and mementos through active duty service. Today, though, the eight-year Marine Corps veteran longs to get out of the wheelchair to which he's been confined since his life changed one day in Iraq.
Wittling, a combat engineer with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, was paralyzed from the chest down in a motor vehicle accident in early May while in Iraq. He was a guest of Paralyzed Veterans of America at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Veterans Day. There he met President George W. Bush.
The injury is forcing Wittling to retire prematurely from the Marine Corps. Early retirement is something Wittling never imagined would happen to him.
Wittling, 27, of Ashland, Wis., says he was riding in a humvee that overturned and rolled a few times. He was ejected and lay on the ground with no feeling in his legs and hands.
"At that time, I knew I was in bad shape and I was done," Wittling said. "I was laying in Iraq paralyzed."
He still recalls the moment when he wished he had died instead.
"I didn't want to live the rest of my life paralyzed and in a wheelchair," Wittling explained.
Combat Engineers from 3rd Platoon, Company C, were assisting Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians in destroying captured enemy munitions. It was part of an effort to make the city of Karbala safe for coalition forces and civilians.
According to 1st Lt. Thomas W. Kershul, 3rd platoon commander, after meticulously stacking the target ammunition, Wittling and his squad placed blocks of C-4 that, when detonated, would cause an explosive chain reaction and destroy the entire stack.
The ammunition consisted of mortars of various sizes, small arms and a number of crew-served weapons left in schools and private residences.
"We had four-minute time cues to blow up and dispose of all the ordnance," Wittling explained. "Once everything was in place, we drove off to a safe distance."
According to Wittling, they were turning a corner when the humvee he was riding in hit soft sand along the inside shoulder and rolled over.
Wittling doesn't recall too much about the incident, but remembers lying there with no feeling in his legs and feet.
He was taken back to Kuwait City and given a steroid shot to minimize the swelling in his spine. Doctors there informed him he suffered breaks to his sixth vertebrae. A few days later he was flown to Germany for spinal surgery.
Wittling's wife said she was terrified and thought her husband had died in Iraq when casualty officers showed up at her doorstep in De Luz housing and rang the doorbell.
"I thought casualty officers only came to the house if Marines died in combat," Maureen said.
"I heard the doorbell and remember walking down the hallway," Maureen explained. "I saw the officers standing there."
They said her husband had been in an accident and was paralyzed.
"I was in total shock," she said. "My heart dropped and I had chills all over my body. My husband was the last person I would ever expect anything to happen to."
Wittling's children -- Cody, 6, and Emily, 3 -- were afraid of their father initially, but eventually came around a few weeks after he came home.
"The last time they saw me, I was walking, and now I can't even move," Wittling said. "I had a neck brace on my head. That was scary-looking to them."
His kids finally came around after he explained the accident.
"My little girl hands me food and tells me it will make me better," Wittling said. "Now my kids see me as Daddy being back home and not in a wheelchair."
Wittling says his wife's stress level has since increased tremendously. When Wittling was in Iraq, Maureen took care of all the bills and chores around the house. Now that he is back, she has an even tougher job, with Wittling dependent on her for nearly everything.
There are times when Wittling feels down and out. He has his good and bad days. Whenever things get rough, Maureen picks up the phone and calls his best friend Brian Lord, a former Marine who served with Wittling.
"Brian comes over and helps my wife out," Wittling said, smiling. "He cheers me up and we start rambling just about anything. He goes above and beyond to help me out."
Lord says he admires and looks up to Wittling. His respect, he said, grows every day.
"Everything he has been through, how he's taking it and (maintaining) high spirits really says a lot about him," Lord said. "He's like a brother to me. I try and do as much as I can for him."
Lance Cpl. Kurt Gellert Jr. spends his weekends with Wittling instead of going out with his friends. It's a sense of duty and loyalty that keeps him by Wittling's side.
"I know if I was in a wheelchair, Sergeant Wittling would come over and help me out," Gellert said, "That's the type of Marine he is."
Gellert said most of their time is spent goofing off -- just watching sports on television. He tries to take care of the small things Wittling can't do.
"I cleaned the garage and his toolbox," Gellert said. "I do the chores that he would normally do."
Wittling said his neighbors have also reached out to help his family. It's attention he never wanted. Still, he's grateful.
"I feel bad asking people to help me all the time," Wittling said. "But what else can I do?"
The only time he gets frustrated is when the help comes across as pity. It frustrates him.
"I don't like that at all," said Wittling, who expects to retire after a medical board convenes. "I mean I can't walk. Oh well, suck it up."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/6C2BB31776BD017385256DE5007F5EB1?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031121181113
Story by Cpl. Jose L. Garcia
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Sgt. Jason S. Wittling sits in his house staring out his window. His children play outside and he longs to be out there with them. He turns and looks at the Marine Corps memorabilia hanging on his walls and thinks back to the day he thought he'd collect 20 years' worth of plaques and mementos through active duty service. Today, though, the eight-year Marine Corps veteran longs to get out of the wheelchair to which he's been confined since his life changed one day in Iraq.
Wittling, a combat engineer with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, was paralyzed from the chest down in a motor vehicle accident in early May while in Iraq. He was a guest of Paralyzed Veterans of America at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Veterans Day. There he met President George W. Bush.
The injury is forcing Wittling to retire prematurely from the Marine Corps. Early retirement is something Wittling never imagined would happen to him.
Wittling, 27, of Ashland, Wis., says he was riding in a humvee that overturned and rolled a few times. He was ejected and lay on the ground with no feeling in his legs and hands.
"At that time, I knew I was in bad shape and I was done," Wittling said. "I was laying in Iraq paralyzed."
He still recalls the moment when he wished he had died instead.
"I didn't want to live the rest of my life paralyzed and in a wheelchair," Wittling explained.
Combat Engineers from 3rd Platoon, Company C, were assisting Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians in destroying captured enemy munitions. It was part of an effort to make the city of Karbala safe for coalition forces and civilians.
According to 1st Lt. Thomas W. Kershul, 3rd platoon commander, after meticulously stacking the target ammunition, Wittling and his squad placed blocks of C-4 that, when detonated, would cause an explosive chain reaction and destroy the entire stack.
The ammunition consisted of mortars of various sizes, small arms and a number of crew-served weapons left in schools and private residences.
"We had four-minute time cues to blow up and dispose of all the ordnance," Wittling explained. "Once everything was in place, we drove off to a safe distance."
According to Wittling, they were turning a corner when the humvee he was riding in hit soft sand along the inside shoulder and rolled over.
Wittling doesn't recall too much about the incident, but remembers lying there with no feeling in his legs and feet.
He was taken back to Kuwait City and given a steroid shot to minimize the swelling in his spine. Doctors there informed him he suffered breaks to his sixth vertebrae. A few days later he was flown to Germany for spinal surgery.
Wittling's wife said she was terrified and thought her husband had died in Iraq when casualty officers showed up at her doorstep in De Luz housing and rang the doorbell.
"I thought casualty officers only came to the house if Marines died in combat," Maureen said.
"I heard the doorbell and remember walking down the hallway," Maureen explained. "I saw the officers standing there."
They said her husband had been in an accident and was paralyzed.
"I was in total shock," she said. "My heart dropped and I had chills all over my body. My husband was the last person I would ever expect anything to happen to."
Wittling's children -- Cody, 6, and Emily, 3 -- were afraid of their father initially, but eventually came around a few weeks after he came home.
"The last time they saw me, I was walking, and now I can't even move," Wittling said. "I had a neck brace on my head. That was scary-looking to them."
His kids finally came around after he explained the accident.
"My little girl hands me food and tells me it will make me better," Wittling said. "Now my kids see me as Daddy being back home and not in a wheelchair."
Wittling says his wife's stress level has since increased tremendously. When Wittling was in Iraq, Maureen took care of all the bills and chores around the house. Now that he is back, she has an even tougher job, with Wittling dependent on her for nearly everything.
There are times when Wittling feels down and out. He has his good and bad days. Whenever things get rough, Maureen picks up the phone and calls his best friend Brian Lord, a former Marine who served with Wittling.
"Brian comes over and helps my wife out," Wittling said, smiling. "He cheers me up and we start rambling just about anything. He goes above and beyond to help me out."
Lord says he admires and looks up to Wittling. His respect, he said, grows every day.
"Everything he has been through, how he's taking it and (maintaining) high spirits really says a lot about him," Lord said. "He's like a brother to me. I try and do as much as I can for him."
Lance Cpl. Kurt Gellert Jr. spends his weekends with Wittling instead of going out with his friends. It's a sense of duty and loyalty that keeps him by Wittling's side.
"I know if I was in a wheelchair, Sergeant Wittling would come over and help me out," Gellert said, "That's the type of Marine he is."
Gellert said most of their time is spent goofing off -- just watching sports on television. He tries to take care of the small things Wittling can't do.
"I cleaned the garage and his toolbox," Gellert said. "I do the chores that he would normally do."
Wittling said his neighbors have also reached out to help his family. It's attention he never wanted. Still, he's grateful.
"I feel bad asking people to help me all the time," Wittling said. "But what else can I do?"
The only time he gets frustrated is when the help comes across as pity. It frustrates him.
"I don't like that at all," said Wittling, who expects to retire after a medical board convenes. "I mean I can't walk. Oh well, suck it up."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/6C2BB31776BD017385256DE5007F5EB1?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: