thedrifter
01-19-07, 12:51 PM
Postcard from Fallujah
By Mike Gaffney
Friday, January 19, 2007 - Updated: 10:20 AM EST
Greg Cinelli doesn’t consider himself a hero. He’ll tell you he’s just a regular Joe who shows up every day to do his job — whether that’s putting out fires in Saugus or patrolling for roadside bombs in Iraq.
For now, Cinelli, a Saugus firefighter, can put away his military uniform and dust off his suspenders and turnout gear. He is back in the United States now after an eight-month tour of duty as a Navy hospital corpsman attached to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines in Fallujah, a hotbed of insurgent activity in Iraq.
Cinelli was assigned to a mobile assault platoon responsible for detecting improvised explosive devices (IED) and providing counterinsurgency operations. His platoon conducted more than 400 patrols spanning from March to October of 2006.
But one of the most compelling stories Cinelli brought back to the states isn’t about IED’s, insurgents or gun battles. It’s about how humanity still survives and thrives even in war.
Cinelli was a friend and battalion-mate of Christopher Walsh, a Navy hospital corpsman who was among three soldiers killed last Labor Day when a roadside bomb went off underneath their armored Humvee.
Before his death, Walsh played a central role in a story that unfolded in a treacherous neighborhood of Fallujah.
In June, Walsh was patrolling the streets when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle. A triggerman was spotted entering a block of rundown buildings and a team of Marines launched a search for the insurgent.
When they entered the building,the Marines were confronted by a frantic woman who yelled “baby sick, baby sick.” Walsh’s medical instincts kicked in and he agreed to examine the child.
“They went from pointing rifles at suspects to checking on a sick baby,” Cinelli recalled.
Walsh discovered the infant girl was born with an unusual deformity in that her bladder was outside her body.
It might sound hard to fathom in an active war zone, but Walsh and the rest of his platoon decided to make saving the baby a priority.
Cinelli said members of the battalion returned to the home at least a half-dozen times to care for the child.
The Marines carefully timed the visits under the cover of darkness and parked their military vehicles far away so they wouldn’t be detected.
Cinelli didn’t personally go into the home with Walsh, but was a member of a reaction force that stood by in case the soldiers encountered enemy resistance.
After Walsh’s death the rest of the battalion continued dropping by the home to look after the baby girl.
As their tour of duty neared completion, members of the battalion decided to ramp up the effort to save the baby Iraqi girl.
Word of the great risks Walsh and the other Marines took to treat the little girl slowly made its way up the military chain of command. Eventually higher ups cleared the way for the girl to be brought to Mass. General Hospital in October, where she underwent successful surgery.
When he got back to the states, Cinelli was reunited with the toddler at MGH, where he got the chance to hold her in his arms.
Despite the extensive surgery the girl came through it OK and is expected to be fine.
“She’ll live very comfortably for a very long time, and a lot of that can be attributed to Chris,” Cinelli said.
The effort to get the girl medical assistance was, as Cinelli described, a befitting way to honor the memory of the three fallen Marines.
“Chris wouldn’t give up,” Cinelli said. “He refused to accept the idea that this little girl had to die.”
Mike Gaffney is a reporter for the Saugus Advertiser. E-mail him at mgaffney@cnc.com.
Ellie
By Mike Gaffney
Friday, January 19, 2007 - Updated: 10:20 AM EST
Greg Cinelli doesn’t consider himself a hero. He’ll tell you he’s just a regular Joe who shows up every day to do his job — whether that’s putting out fires in Saugus or patrolling for roadside bombs in Iraq.
For now, Cinelli, a Saugus firefighter, can put away his military uniform and dust off his suspenders and turnout gear. He is back in the United States now after an eight-month tour of duty as a Navy hospital corpsman attached to the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines in Fallujah, a hotbed of insurgent activity in Iraq.
Cinelli was assigned to a mobile assault platoon responsible for detecting improvised explosive devices (IED) and providing counterinsurgency operations. His platoon conducted more than 400 patrols spanning from March to October of 2006.
But one of the most compelling stories Cinelli brought back to the states isn’t about IED’s, insurgents or gun battles. It’s about how humanity still survives and thrives even in war.
Cinelli was a friend and battalion-mate of Christopher Walsh, a Navy hospital corpsman who was among three soldiers killed last Labor Day when a roadside bomb went off underneath their armored Humvee.
Before his death, Walsh played a central role in a story that unfolded in a treacherous neighborhood of Fallujah.
In June, Walsh was patrolling the streets when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle. A triggerman was spotted entering a block of rundown buildings and a team of Marines launched a search for the insurgent.
When they entered the building,the Marines were confronted by a frantic woman who yelled “baby sick, baby sick.” Walsh’s medical instincts kicked in and he agreed to examine the child.
“They went from pointing rifles at suspects to checking on a sick baby,” Cinelli recalled.
Walsh discovered the infant girl was born with an unusual deformity in that her bladder was outside her body.
It might sound hard to fathom in an active war zone, but Walsh and the rest of his platoon decided to make saving the baby a priority.
Cinelli said members of the battalion returned to the home at least a half-dozen times to care for the child.
The Marines carefully timed the visits under the cover of darkness and parked their military vehicles far away so they wouldn’t be detected.
Cinelli didn’t personally go into the home with Walsh, but was a member of a reaction force that stood by in case the soldiers encountered enemy resistance.
After Walsh’s death the rest of the battalion continued dropping by the home to look after the baby girl.
As their tour of duty neared completion, members of the battalion decided to ramp up the effort to save the baby Iraqi girl.
Word of the great risks Walsh and the other Marines took to treat the little girl slowly made its way up the military chain of command. Eventually higher ups cleared the way for the girl to be brought to Mass. General Hospital in October, where she underwent successful surgery.
When he got back to the states, Cinelli was reunited with the toddler at MGH, where he got the chance to hold her in his arms.
Despite the extensive surgery the girl came through it OK and is expected to be fine.
“She’ll live very comfortably for a very long time, and a lot of that can be attributed to Chris,” Cinelli said.
The effort to get the girl medical assistance was, as Cinelli described, a befitting way to honor the memory of the three fallen Marines.
“Chris wouldn’t give up,” Cinelli said. “He refused to accept the idea that this little girl had to die.”
Mike Gaffney is a reporter for the Saugus Advertiser. E-mail him at mgaffney@cnc.com.
Ellie