thedrifter
04-28-08, 08:21 AM
E-8 is first above-the-knee amputee to return to Iraq
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Apr 27, 2008 17:44:41 EDT
OKLAHOMA CITY — A Marine from Oklahoma has become the first person with an above-the-knee amputation to return to combat in Iraq.
Master Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson, 37, needed his left leg amputated above the knee after he was shot by a sniper while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm’s way in Ramadi, Iraq, in May 2006. After competing in triathlons on his new carbon-fiber leg, he was allowed to return to Iraq, where he serves as a fire chief in Fallujah.
His wife, Chaney Gibson of Lawton, said he wanted to return to combat to get closure and to prove to himself that he could do it.
“It was definitely harder this time,” said Chaney Gibson, who is a former Marine. “It was emotional for me to imagine sending him back to the place where we almost lost him.
“You kind of have two different feelings. From the wife standpoint you have all the emotions and don’t want him to go, but from the Marine perspective, I totally understand it and respect it.”
Gibson’s story has garnered the attention of President Bush, who mentioned his name during a speech this March marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Two other American service members with below-the-knee amputations have returned to Iraq.
To earn his trip back to Iraq, the 19-year veteran had some convincing to do. Gene Gibson, Spanky’s father, said his son was nearly forced to retire, but was guaranteed a job with the Marines after calling the commandant of the Marine Corps.
“I definitely understood it,” Chaney Gibson said. “He had told me that he would like to go back, but we had been told that was not an option. He asked what I thought and I said, ‘I guess.’ I said that not ever dreaming that he would actually get to go back.”
Military service runs deep in the Gibson family. Spanky Gibson’s maternal grandfather was a Marine, and Gene Gibson was a Navy Seabee. At age 5, he got a glimpse at his future.
“His grandpa came by in uniform, and from that day on he always said he wanted to be a Marine,” Gene Gibson said. “He went in two weeks after he got out of high school, before he was even 18.
“He had a couple of scholarships to college, but he always said you don’t need to go to college to be a Marine.”
As a fellow Marine, Chaney Gibson can understand her husband’s desire to go back into combat — although that doesn’t prevent her from being concerned that he’s in harm’s way. All she and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, can do is support him.
“He was a Marine before I married him, and you know what to expect,” Chaney Gibson said. “He’s risked his life more than a couple of times for the Marine Corps. You can’t ask him to change who he is.”
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Apr 27, 2008 17:44:41 EDT
OKLAHOMA CITY — A Marine from Oklahoma has become the first person with an above-the-knee amputation to return to combat in Iraq.
Master Sgt. William “Spanky” Gibson, 37, needed his left leg amputated above the knee after he was shot by a sniper while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm’s way in Ramadi, Iraq, in May 2006. After competing in triathlons on his new carbon-fiber leg, he was allowed to return to Iraq, where he serves as a fire chief in Fallujah.
His wife, Chaney Gibson of Lawton, said he wanted to return to combat to get closure and to prove to himself that he could do it.
“It was definitely harder this time,” said Chaney Gibson, who is a former Marine. “It was emotional for me to imagine sending him back to the place where we almost lost him.
“You kind of have two different feelings. From the wife standpoint you have all the emotions and don’t want him to go, but from the Marine perspective, I totally understand it and respect it.”
Gibson’s story has garnered the attention of President Bush, who mentioned his name during a speech this March marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Two other American service members with below-the-knee amputations have returned to Iraq.
To earn his trip back to Iraq, the 19-year veteran had some convincing to do. Gene Gibson, Spanky’s father, said his son was nearly forced to retire, but was guaranteed a job with the Marines after calling the commandant of the Marine Corps.
“I definitely understood it,” Chaney Gibson said. “He had told me that he would like to go back, but we had been told that was not an option. He asked what I thought and I said, ‘I guess.’ I said that not ever dreaming that he would actually get to go back.”
Military service runs deep in the Gibson family. Spanky Gibson’s maternal grandfather was a Marine, and Gene Gibson was a Navy Seabee. At age 5, he got a glimpse at his future.
“His grandpa came by in uniform, and from that day on he always said he wanted to be a Marine,” Gene Gibson said. “He went in two weeks after he got out of high school, before he was even 18.
“He had a couple of scholarships to college, but he always said you don’t need to go to college to be a Marine.”
As a fellow Marine, Chaney Gibson can understand her husband’s desire to go back into combat — although that doesn’t prevent her from being concerned that he’s in harm’s way. All she and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, can do is support him.
“He was a Marine before I married him, and you know what to expect,” Chaney Gibson said. “He’s risked his life more than a couple of times for the Marine Corps. You can’t ask him to change who he is.”
Ellie