thedrifter
12-12-08, 06:02 AM
Marine from Bay Shore receives Purple Heart
BY JOIE TYRRELL
joie.tyrrell@newsday.com
9:14 PM EST, December 11, 2008
Marine Corps Capt. Chris Pfeffer, a Bay Shore native, knew that the visitor coming to his room at Bethesda Naval Hospital was classified as a very important person but he wasn't sure who it was going to be.
President George W. Bush walked in, and Pfeffer's father, John, introduced himself. The president shook his hand and reportedly replied: "I'm President Bush."
The president was there in early November to award Pfeffer, 31, a Purple Heart after he had been wounded in combat in Afghanistan. Pfeffer, a Marine in Special Operations, had been shot twice in the arm.
"He thanked me for my service and said how important it is that we have servicemen who do this to make our country better and safer," Pfeffer said Thursday.
Now, Pfeffer is home for a visit to Bay Shore where he grew up and where his father and stepmother have worked as physical education teachers in local schools. Pfeffer is now stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Alycia.
Pfeffer, a 1996 graduate of Bay Shore High School, joined the Marine Corps after going to Campbell University in North Carolina on a wrestling scholarship. He completed a tour in Iraq and was wounded earlier this year in Afghanistan.
"We were just out on a regular mission, in combat in the western part of Afghanistan when there was a firefight," Pfeffer said.
He was sent by medical transport to the Bethesda hospital.
The Purple Heart is presented to service members wounded or killed in combat, during terrorist attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping mission. More than 8,000 U.S. Marines have been awarded the Purple Heart since 2001, including 408 officers and 7,600 Marines, according to Headquarters Marine Corps Branch in Quantico.
Pfeffer said he has surgery scheduled for later this month and has some slight nerve damage.
His father, John, said he is very proud of his son.
"Any parent would have to be worried," John Pfeffer said. "But you know if there wasn't people like him, all of us wouldn't have the safety we have."
Ellie
BY JOIE TYRRELL
joie.tyrrell@newsday.com
9:14 PM EST, December 11, 2008
Marine Corps Capt. Chris Pfeffer, a Bay Shore native, knew that the visitor coming to his room at Bethesda Naval Hospital was classified as a very important person but he wasn't sure who it was going to be.
President George W. Bush walked in, and Pfeffer's father, John, introduced himself. The president shook his hand and reportedly replied: "I'm President Bush."
The president was there in early November to award Pfeffer, 31, a Purple Heart after he had been wounded in combat in Afghanistan. Pfeffer, a Marine in Special Operations, had been shot twice in the arm.
"He thanked me for my service and said how important it is that we have servicemen who do this to make our country better and safer," Pfeffer said Thursday.
Now, Pfeffer is home for a visit to Bay Shore where he grew up and where his father and stepmother have worked as physical education teachers in local schools. Pfeffer is now stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Alycia.
Pfeffer, a 1996 graduate of Bay Shore High School, joined the Marine Corps after going to Campbell University in North Carolina on a wrestling scholarship. He completed a tour in Iraq and was wounded earlier this year in Afghanistan.
"We were just out on a regular mission, in combat in the western part of Afghanistan when there was a firefight," Pfeffer said.
He was sent by medical transport to the Bethesda hospital.
The Purple Heart is presented to service members wounded or killed in combat, during terrorist attacks or while serving as part of a peacekeeping mission. More than 8,000 U.S. Marines have been awarded the Purple Heart since 2001, including 408 officers and 7,600 Marines, according to Headquarters Marine Corps Branch in Quantico.
Pfeffer said he has surgery scheduled for later this month and has some slight nerve damage.
His father, John, said he is very proud of his son.
"Any parent would have to be worried," John Pfeffer said. "But you know if there wasn't people like him, all of us wouldn't have the safety we have."
Ellie