thedrifter
01-14-07, 08:29 AM
East Bridgewater Lt. Col. McCarthy well-suited for hero's role in Iraq
By Marcy Murphy, Enterprise correspondent
EAST BRIDGEWATER n Roberta and Robert McCarthy were not surprised to learn their son Lt. Col. Robert E. McCarthy III played an instrumental role in saving the life of a young girl in Iraq.
“He's the type to do anything for anybody. He's always loved people,” said Roberta McCarthy of her son, Robert, 41, a native of East Bridgewater who resides in California and is serving in Iraq as a Police Transition Team leader with the Marines.
A Jan. 5 article on a Marine Corps Web site, www.usmc.mil, by Lance Cpl. Geoffrey Ingersoll, detailed the Oct. 13 rescue.
The article, titled “Service members unite to save girls' life,” noted that “the Police Transition Team had just completed their mission, advising the personnel at the last of three Iraqi police stations.”
At that time, the article related, McCarthy received word from Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Graham that a 9-year-old girl, Riyam Shihan, had sustained a crushed skull when a heavy metal door fell on her while she was playing at a home in Habbaniyah.
From that point, McCarthy III and the team worked quickly to get her medical attention.
“He called a command. He got her to a hospital,” said Roberta McCarthy of her son's efforts.
According to the article, the accident caused bruising and swelling of the brain and internal bleeding. It was doubtful that she would survive, but miraculously she did.
In a recent e-mail received from McCarthy III from Iraq, he wrote, “Riyam grows stronger everyday. She is a bright, intelligent, and extremely happy girl; she is also a very lucky girl. Only fate intervened when our paths crossed in October. We should have been rolling 20 minutes before she arrived. Doctors are currently monitoring her progress, here, many people and benevolent groups are rallying to get her much needed medical assistance in the United States as the medical facilities in Iraq are not equipped to provide the care Riyam requires.”
Robert and Roberta McCarthy are not surprised their son would have taken the initiative to help save the girl's life.
“We're very proud of his accomplishments. He's a hard worker, a very dedicated Marine,” said his father Robert.
He has been in the Marines for about 17 years and, even as a child, showed an interest in the military, he said.
When he was little, he would play soldier games, he said.
As proud as they are of their son, they are just as proud of their twin grandchildren, who McCarthy's wife, Mary, gave birth to in October.
Considering he has been in Iraq since August, he has not seen his babies other than in photos, but the proud grandparents have traveled to California to welcome the new additions and help out.
Allen McCarthy, newly elected state representative for the 7th Plymouth District of Abington, Whitman and East Bridgewater, said he is “so proud ” of his brother for helping Shihan and “his overall service.”
“It's amazing what the troops over there are doing. We're keeping our fingers crossed (for him),” Allen McCarthy said.
The McCarthys do not know when he will finish his tour in Iraq and return to California to be united with his new family.
Ellie
By Marcy Murphy, Enterprise correspondent
EAST BRIDGEWATER n Roberta and Robert McCarthy were not surprised to learn their son Lt. Col. Robert E. McCarthy III played an instrumental role in saving the life of a young girl in Iraq.
“He's the type to do anything for anybody. He's always loved people,” said Roberta McCarthy of her son, Robert, 41, a native of East Bridgewater who resides in California and is serving in Iraq as a Police Transition Team leader with the Marines.
A Jan. 5 article on a Marine Corps Web site, www.usmc.mil, by Lance Cpl. Geoffrey Ingersoll, detailed the Oct. 13 rescue.
The article, titled “Service members unite to save girls' life,” noted that “the Police Transition Team had just completed their mission, advising the personnel at the last of three Iraqi police stations.”
At that time, the article related, McCarthy received word from Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Graham that a 9-year-old girl, Riyam Shihan, had sustained a crushed skull when a heavy metal door fell on her while she was playing at a home in Habbaniyah.
From that point, McCarthy III and the team worked quickly to get her medical attention.
“He called a command. He got her to a hospital,” said Roberta McCarthy of her son's efforts.
According to the article, the accident caused bruising and swelling of the brain and internal bleeding. It was doubtful that she would survive, but miraculously she did.
In a recent e-mail received from McCarthy III from Iraq, he wrote, “Riyam grows stronger everyday. She is a bright, intelligent, and extremely happy girl; she is also a very lucky girl. Only fate intervened when our paths crossed in October. We should have been rolling 20 minutes before she arrived. Doctors are currently monitoring her progress, here, many people and benevolent groups are rallying to get her much needed medical assistance in the United States as the medical facilities in Iraq are not equipped to provide the care Riyam requires.”
Robert and Roberta McCarthy are not surprised their son would have taken the initiative to help save the girl's life.
“We're very proud of his accomplishments. He's a hard worker, a very dedicated Marine,” said his father Robert.
He has been in the Marines for about 17 years and, even as a child, showed an interest in the military, he said.
When he was little, he would play soldier games, he said.
As proud as they are of their son, they are just as proud of their twin grandchildren, who McCarthy's wife, Mary, gave birth to in October.
Considering he has been in Iraq since August, he has not seen his babies other than in photos, but the proud grandparents have traveled to California to welcome the new additions and help out.
Allen McCarthy, newly elected state representative for the 7th Plymouth District of Abington, Whitman and East Bridgewater, said he is “so proud ” of his brother for helping Shihan and “his overall service.”
“It's amazing what the troops over there are doing. We're keeping our fingers crossed (for him),” Allen McCarthy said.
The McCarthys do not know when he will finish his tour in Iraq and return to California to be united with his new family.
Ellie