PDA

View Full Version : Norwalk Marine Wounded In Iraq



thedrifter
03-11-06, 06:24 PM
Norwalk Marine Wounded In Iraq
Parents Plan To Meet Son In Capitol
POSTED: 4:58 pm CST March 11, 2006
UPDATED: 5:24 pm CST March 11, 2006

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An explosion in Iraq injured one of two Norwalk brothers serving in Iraq.

The brothers are just one year apart, and they're both Marines serving overseas.

It was the younger brother, Joel Klobnak, 19, who was injured earlier this week.

His injuries are not considered life-threatening, but he is on a ventilator and has been moved to Germany.

His parents, Wes and Lisa Klobnak, are hoping he will soon be in Washington, D.C., so they can be with him.

Jeremy and Joel Klobnak have endured more than most.

“They've always been close, but when you go through an ordeal like Marine boot camp, it just really joined them at the hip,” Wes Klobnak said.

They even left for Iraq at about the same time, serving in different units.

Joel had only two weeks of Iraqi service left when something went wrong Monday.

”One of the arming pieces touched the ammo that he had in his lap and it exploded on him,” his father said.

The accident burned the Marine’s hands and shattered his legs.

On Friday morning, his parents phone rang, and it was Joel.

”He wept and says, ‘Mom’ what he could say is, ‘If--- I'm alive today because of God's protection,’” his mother said.

“So he said he could have-- it should have just blown me apart,” Wes Klobnak said.

Now, all they can do is wait. Their bags are packed and as soon as they get word their son is on his way to Washington, D.C., they're heading there, too.

”I want to touch him. I want to know he's OK. I want to hold him. I want to-- I just need to be with him,” Lisa Klobnak said.

Joel’s parents aren’t the only ones who want to be with Joel. Jeremy also called home Friday.

”He was very emotional, and they're doing everything they can to get him to D.C. so, they need to be together. That will help Joel, yeah. That will help,” Lisa Klobnak said.

As soon as Joel gets transferred on a medical plane from Germany to Bethesda Naval Hospital, his parents are supposed to be notified. That’s when they plan to travel to the nation’s capitol.

Ellie