thedrifter
05-08-06, 09:59 AM
Posted on Mon, May. 08, 2006
Sailor of the year hails from Dover
Navy lauds 33-year-old reservist for his heroism while under fire with Akron Marine unit in Iraq
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
When David Worrell decided to return to the Navy as a reservist, he had one condition for his recruiter to seal the deal.
``If you send me with the Marines, I'll join,'' Worrell said.
The Dover sailor has since been named 2006 Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year for his actions while serving with an Akron Marine Reserve unit last year in Iraq.
Worrell, 33, a 1991 graduate of Harrison County's Conotton Valley High School in Bowerston, joined the Navy Reserve in 1998, a year after finishing a stint in the Navy as a corpsman -- a medic -- working as an advanced medical laboratory technician.
He was assigned to train with the Akron Marine Reserve unit on Dan Street, and in 2005, he left with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines for Iraq.
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Worrell, 33, was in charge of 10 corpsman in Iraq.
During the Marine's seven-month deployment, 15 men -- 14 Marines and one corpsman -- who either left with Weapons Company or were attached to the unit were killed, and countless others wounded.
``I feel like I am one person representing the whole team,'' said Worrell, whose civilian job is phlebotomy supervisor at Union Hospital in Dover.
``I did the best I could, but I had fantastic people around me -- incredible human beings,'' he said. ``They went above and beyond on a daily basis.''
Worrell said his scariest moment was during an insurgent assault on a hospital in Haditha on Mother's Day last year when the Marines suffered casualties.
``When you picture being in combat, you never know really what to picture, but the idea of weapons being fired and bullets coming downrange and a burning vehicle and knowing people were shooting at you and shooting back -- it was just chaotic combat like you would think of combat being,'' he said.
``It was as scary as it can get,'' he said.
Navy Readiness Command Mid-Atlantic Command Master Chief Dwight M. Holt, who was on the board that selected Worrell for the honor, praised the sailor's actions. ``He stood the watch, and he put himself in harm's way to save others,'' Holt said in a Navy news release.
Navy Reserve Force Master Chief David R. Pennington termed Worrell ``a fantastic ambassador for the Navy.''
And Navy Cmdr. Charlie Strassle, at the Navy Operational Support Center on Dan Street, said Navy personnel in Akron ``are ecstatic and proud to be associated with a professional like that. He brings credit to the Navy Reserve.''
Worrell said corpsmen carry weapons and train with Marines, and he and other corpsmen took part in many missions in Iraq alongside the Marines.
His time in Iraq and what he saw and did, he said, will always be a part of him. ``I think about it a lot,'' said the sailor, who will be promoted to chief petty officer this summer.
Marine 1st Sgt. William T. Sowers of Weapons Company in Akron praised Worrell for all he did to prepare the unit medically to go to Iraq and for his heroic actions while there. The award, Sowers said, ``is well-deserved.''
He recalled an incident in Iraq in which a Marine peered around a building in a firefight, and a bullet slammed into his helmet. The Marine was not injured.
``Doc (Worrell) calmed him down,'' Sowers said.
Returning home, Worrell said, has given him a new perspective on life.
``You hear the phrase `Stop and smell the roses' -- I find myself not putting so much pressure on myself now,'' he said. ``I want to spend more time with my children,'' the single father of two daughters said.
But the return home also had its difficulties: His marriage came to an end.
Another ``casualty of war,'' he said.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com
Ellie
Sailor of the year hails from Dover
Navy lauds 33-year-old reservist for his heroism while under fire with Akron Marine unit in Iraq
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
When David Worrell decided to return to the Navy as a reservist, he had one condition for his recruiter to seal the deal.
``If you send me with the Marines, I'll join,'' Worrell said.
The Dover sailor has since been named 2006 Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year for his actions while serving with an Akron Marine Reserve unit last year in Iraq.
Worrell, 33, a 1991 graduate of Harrison County's Conotton Valley High School in Bowerston, joined the Navy Reserve in 1998, a year after finishing a stint in the Navy as a corpsman -- a medic -- working as an advanced medical laboratory technician.
He was assigned to train with the Akron Marine Reserve unit on Dan Street, and in 2005, he left with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines for Iraq.
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Worrell, 33, was in charge of 10 corpsman in Iraq.
During the Marine's seven-month deployment, 15 men -- 14 Marines and one corpsman -- who either left with Weapons Company or were attached to the unit were killed, and countless others wounded.
``I feel like I am one person representing the whole team,'' said Worrell, whose civilian job is phlebotomy supervisor at Union Hospital in Dover.
``I did the best I could, but I had fantastic people around me -- incredible human beings,'' he said. ``They went above and beyond on a daily basis.''
Worrell said his scariest moment was during an insurgent assault on a hospital in Haditha on Mother's Day last year when the Marines suffered casualties.
``When you picture being in combat, you never know really what to picture, but the idea of weapons being fired and bullets coming downrange and a burning vehicle and knowing people were shooting at you and shooting back -- it was just chaotic combat like you would think of combat being,'' he said.
``It was as scary as it can get,'' he said.
Navy Readiness Command Mid-Atlantic Command Master Chief Dwight M. Holt, who was on the board that selected Worrell for the honor, praised the sailor's actions. ``He stood the watch, and he put himself in harm's way to save others,'' Holt said in a Navy news release.
Navy Reserve Force Master Chief David R. Pennington termed Worrell ``a fantastic ambassador for the Navy.''
And Navy Cmdr. Charlie Strassle, at the Navy Operational Support Center on Dan Street, said Navy personnel in Akron ``are ecstatic and proud to be associated with a professional like that. He brings credit to the Navy Reserve.''
Worrell said corpsmen carry weapons and train with Marines, and he and other corpsmen took part in many missions in Iraq alongside the Marines.
His time in Iraq and what he saw and did, he said, will always be a part of him. ``I think about it a lot,'' said the sailor, who will be promoted to chief petty officer this summer.
Marine 1st Sgt. William T. Sowers of Weapons Company in Akron praised Worrell for all he did to prepare the unit medically to go to Iraq and for his heroic actions while there. The award, Sowers said, ``is well-deserved.''
He recalled an incident in Iraq in which a Marine peered around a building in a firefight, and a bullet slammed into his helmet. The Marine was not injured.
``Doc (Worrell) calmed him down,'' Sowers said.
Returning home, Worrell said, has given him a new perspective on life.
``You hear the phrase `Stop and smell the roses' -- I find myself not putting so much pressure on myself now,'' he said. ``I want to spend more time with my children,'' the single father of two daughters said.
But the return home also had its difficulties: His marriage came to an end.
Another ``casualty of war,'' he said.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com
Ellie