thedrifter
10-22-07, 06:35 AM
Best bachelor?
Injured in Iraq, former lance cpl. is magazine heartthrob
By Patricia Kime - pkime@militarytimes.com
Posted : October 29, 2007
A former Marine whose career was ended by a roadside bomb in Iraq made a strong showing in Cosmopolitan magazine’s 2007 Bachelor of the Year contest.
Neil Schalk, 21, of Richland Center, Wis., defeated hundreds of applicants by being named Cosmo’s Wisconsin Bachelor 2007.
And on Oct. 17, he traveled to New York to see whether he beat out 49 other contestants for the title. At stake was a $10,000 prize and the chance to appear in the magazine’s January issue. Schalk lost out to Ohio bachelor Brian Watkins, but said he enjoyed the chance to compete.
“It’s cool. I didn’t really think I’d get to this point in the competition,” Schalk said.
Schalk wasn’t the only former Marine in the running for Bachelor of the Year. Atlanta native Dennard Greenwood spent eight years in the Marine Corps, according to his Cosmo profile. Greenwood called his military service his “proudest accomplishment.”
Former lance corporal Schalk was nominated by his 19-year-old sister, Natalee, who describes her brother as “just a sweetheart.”
“He’s really humble. And he’s just a great guy,” she said.
Schalk enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and attended boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. After going through combat engineering school in North Carolina, he was assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force’s personal security detachment.
On Nov. 4, 2005, while serving as a gunner in a Humvee traveling between Ramadi and Fallujah, his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The blast destroyed his left hand and blew off two fingers on his right.
“Typical nasty IED,” he said. “I remember looking down and there was this big hole in my left hand. I could see all the way through.”
Despite his injuries, Schalk continues to compete as a tri-athlete and marathon runner. He plans to run in the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 28 and is training for the 2008 Wisconsin Ironman. He also is pursuing a degree in biology at University of Wisconsin-Richland, planning to become a biology teacher.
According to his Cosmo Web page, his idea of a perfect first date is riding mountain bikes. He thinks women are at their most beautiful when they wake up in the morning and can’t stand it when a date talks on her cell phone when she’s with him.
“Turn that damn thing off!” Schalk wrote in his blurb.
The former Marine’s adventures into the glam bachelor life, which included appearances on NBC’s Today Show and Entertainment Tonight as part of the contest, aren’t Schalk’s first foray into the spotlight. In 2006, he attended the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., as a guest of Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and was acknowledged in the gallery by President Bush during the speech.
He says he’s unsure how being Cosmo’s Wisconsin Bachelor 2007 will change his life.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it, and I definitely didn’t intend for the Marine Corps stuff to come out. I don’t want people thinking it’s a crutch to help win,” he said.
But on his Web page, he cites earning the Purple Heart as his proudest accomplishment, and in his Cosmo video, viewers can’t help but notice the Iraqi flag in his bedroom and the poncho liner that serves as his bedspread.
Certainly, having a Purple Heart or the backing of MarineParents.com, which campaigned ardently for Schalk by issuing press releases and contacting media outlets, didn’t hurt.
“I’m so proud of him,” sister Natalee said.
Ellie
Injured in Iraq, former lance cpl. is magazine heartthrob
By Patricia Kime - pkime@militarytimes.com
Posted : October 29, 2007
A former Marine whose career was ended by a roadside bomb in Iraq made a strong showing in Cosmopolitan magazine’s 2007 Bachelor of the Year contest.
Neil Schalk, 21, of Richland Center, Wis., defeated hundreds of applicants by being named Cosmo’s Wisconsin Bachelor 2007.
And on Oct. 17, he traveled to New York to see whether he beat out 49 other contestants for the title. At stake was a $10,000 prize and the chance to appear in the magazine’s January issue. Schalk lost out to Ohio bachelor Brian Watkins, but said he enjoyed the chance to compete.
“It’s cool. I didn’t really think I’d get to this point in the competition,” Schalk said.
Schalk wasn’t the only former Marine in the running for Bachelor of the Year. Atlanta native Dennard Greenwood spent eight years in the Marine Corps, according to his Cosmo profile. Greenwood called his military service his “proudest accomplishment.”
Former lance corporal Schalk was nominated by his 19-year-old sister, Natalee, who describes her brother as “just a sweetheart.”
“He’s really humble. And he’s just a great guy,” she said.
Schalk enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and attended boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. After going through combat engineering school in North Carolina, he was assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force’s personal security detachment.
On Nov. 4, 2005, while serving as a gunner in a Humvee traveling between Ramadi and Fallujah, his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The blast destroyed his left hand and blew off two fingers on his right.
“Typical nasty IED,” he said. “I remember looking down and there was this big hole in my left hand. I could see all the way through.”
Despite his injuries, Schalk continues to compete as a tri-athlete and marathon runner. He plans to run in the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 28 and is training for the 2008 Wisconsin Ironman. He also is pursuing a degree in biology at University of Wisconsin-Richland, planning to become a biology teacher.
According to his Cosmo Web page, his idea of a perfect first date is riding mountain bikes. He thinks women are at their most beautiful when they wake up in the morning and can’t stand it when a date talks on her cell phone when she’s with him.
“Turn that damn thing off!” Schalk wrote in his blurb.
The former Marine’s adventures into the glam bachelor life, which included appearances on NBC’s Today Show and Entertainment Tonight as part of the contest, aren’t Schalk’s first foray into the spotlight. In 2006, he attended the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., as a guest of Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and was acknowledged in the gallery by President Bush during the speech.
He says he’s unsure how being Cosmo’s Wisconsin Bachelor 2007 will change his life.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it, and I definitely didn’t intend for the Marine Corps stuff to come out. I don’t want people thinking it’s a crutch to help win,” he said.
But on his Web page, he cites earning the Purple Heart as his proudest accomplishment, and in his Cosmo video, viewers can’t help but notice the Iraqi flag in his bedroom and the poncho liner that serves as his bedspread.
Certainly, having a Purple Heart or the backing of MarineParents.com, which campaigned ardently for Schalk by issuing press releases and contacting media outlets, didn’t hurt.
“I’m so proud of him,” sister Natalee said.
Ellie