thedrifter
03-11-07, 10:16 AM
Perry Marine hurt in Iraq
U.S., Iran discuss security
Sunday, March 11, 2007
BY JOE ELIAS
Of The Patriot-News
LANDISBURG - The topic of conversation wasn't what Robbyn Metz wanted, but she couldn't have been happier with the caller.
The Feb. 28 call was from her son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nicholas A. Columbus, a 2005 West Perry High School graduate. He told her he had been wounded while serving in Iraq's Anbar province the week before, Metz said.
"He said he was OK and for me not to worry," said Metz, a computer programmer at the Naval Support Activity in Hampden Twp. "Any time your Marine can call you, that's good news."
The explosion left Columbus with a concussion, cuts on his head and other minor injuries, Metz said.
Columbus' father, Joseph Columbus of Marysville, an inspector at the Hampden Twp. base, said he knew something was off when his son called.
"It was the morning; he usually calls in the evening," Joseph Columbus said. "He says he's in the hospital, but he's fine."
Nicholas Columbus was on patrol as part of the 2nd Marine Division's 2nd Light Armor Recon Battalion, in charge of searching for stashes of explosives hidden in Iraq, when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb, Metz said.
Columbus joined the Marines in July 2005 and has been in Iraq since September. Metz said her son has two more years on his enlistment and is scheduled to return home for a month in April or May.
Joseph Columbus and Metz said their son's injuries are nothing that should keep him from pursuing a career in the Marines.
"People are going to have a hard time convincing him he's doing anything special," Metz said, adding that her son has wanted to join the Marines since he was in eighth grade. "He views it as his duty, as a job he loves."
His father agreed.
"He doesn't do it for the attention," Joseph Columbus said. "None of them do."
The blast that injured Nicholas Columbus severely wounded one Marine and killed another, his parents said.
JOE ELIAS: 255-8115 or jelias@patriot-news.com
Ellie
U.S., Iran discuss security
Sunday, March 11, 2007
BY JOE ELIAS
Of The Patriot-News
LANDISBURG - The topic of conversation wasn't what Robbyn Metz wanted, but she couldn't have been happier with the caller.
The Feb. 28 call was from her son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nicholas A. Columbus, a 2005 West Perry High School graduate. He told her he had been wounded while serving in Iraq's Anbar province the week before, Metz said.
"He said he was OK and for me not to worry," said Metz, a computer programmer at the Naval Support Activity in Hampden Twp. "Any time your Marine can call you, that's good news."
The explosion left Columbus with a concussion, cuts on his head and other minor injuries, Metz said.
Columbus' father, Joseph Columbus of Marysville, an inspector at the Hampden Twp. base, said he knew something was off when his son called.
"It was the morning; he usually calls in the evening," Joseph Columbus said. "He says he's in the hospital, but he's fine."
Nicholas Columbus was on patrol as part of the 2nd Marine Division's 2nd Light Armor Recon Battalion, in charge of searching for stashes of explosives hidden in Iraq, when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb, Metz said.
Columbus joined the Marines in July 2005 and has been in Iraq since September. Metz said her son has two more years on his enlistment and is scheduled to return home for a month in April or May.
Joseph Columbus and Metz said their son's injuries are nothing that should keep him from pursuing a career in the Marines.
"People are going to have a hard time convincing him he's doing anything special," Metz said, adding that her son has wanted to join the Marines since he was in eighth grade. "He views it as his duty, as a job he loves."
His father agreed.
"He doesn't do it for the attention," Joseph Columbus said. "None of them do."
The blast that injured Nicholas Columbus severely wounded one Marine and killed another, his parents said.
JOE ELIAS: 255-8115 or jelias@patriot-news.com
Ellie