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thedrifter
02-18-06, 08:04 AM
Marines' 'Doc' Is Awarded Bronze Star for Bravery
Navy corpsman Nathan McDonell is honored for saving the life of a corporal wounded when their Humvee was hit by explosives in Iraq.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


CAMP PENDLETON — The first three rocket-propelled grenades missed the Humvee, but the fourth slammed into its side.

The explosion and shrapnel nearly severed the right arm and right leg of a young Marine, and what had been a fight with the enemy suddenly became a fight to save the life of Cpl. Mark O'Brien.

On Friday, Navy corpsman Nathan "Doc" McDonell was awarded a Bronze Star with a V for valor for his bravery and resourcefulness in saving O'Brien from dying from shock or loss of blood.

McDonell, O'Brien and three other Marines — all members of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division — were in a firefight with insurgents in Ramadi on Nov. 8, 2004, when their Humvee was struck.

McDonell, now 28, remembers the scene as "stench, noise, blood, screaming and carnage."

Through it all, according to the official citation, McDonell showed "bold leadership, wise judgment and complete dedication to duty."

The brief ceremony here was a testament to the link between Marines and Navy medical corpsmen. Infantry Marines tend to be a tight-knit group that accepts few outsiders as equals, but a bond exists between "grunts" and the corpsmen who accompany them into combat.

"Although it may say U.S. Navy on your identification card, you are a Marine," Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski told McDonell as he presented the award, authorized by President Bush.

As the evacuation vehicle raced through narrow streets, with insurgent gunfire hitting its sides, McDonell used a tourniquet on O'Brien's mangled leg, according the official record of the events. As blood gushed, he tried to reach inside and apply a stronger tourniquet to the femoral artery.

When that failed, McDonell reached inside the leg and clamped the artery by hand to stop the bleeding until they reached a hospital where Navy doctors and nurses were waiting.

He dared not give morphine to O'Brien for fear its depressant effect would make it more difficult to stem the blood.

"He was my buddy, but his pain was secondary to his life, to stopping that bleeding," McDonell said. "I've never seen someone endure so much pain with so much poise and dignity."

O'Brien lost his arm and leg. But he survived, was medically retired from the Marine Corps, and is now set to be married in July, with McDonell and other buddies from the Two-Five in attendance.

"If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be here today," O'Brien, 23, said in a telephone interview from his home in upstate New York. "He was calm, he knew everything to do. Nobody else could have done it like him."

O'Brien, who is now in college studying to be an occupational therapist, said McDonell "is a great guy. He's more than just a good doc; he's as good as any Marine."

McDonell said that, although he was singled out, the effort to evacuate O'Brien could not have been successful without the other Marines in the Humvee: Cpl. David Kammerer, Sgt. Sam Pennock and Gunnery Sgt. Michael Miller.

"It was an honor to fight alongside them," he said.

rb1651
02-18-06, 08:02 PM
OOHRAHHH, Devil Doc. The next brew's for you! I know that it sounds small, but thanks for taking care of our Brother.

thedrifter
02-21-06, 06:55 AM
Doc stops the bleeding, treats for shock, earns Bronze Star <br />
MCB Camp Pendleton <br />
Story by Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Floto <br />
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 17, 2006) -- Critical medical...