thedrifter
07-09-09, 07:06 AM
News
Marines reinstate wounded sergeant
Thursday, July 9, 2009
By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
ELLENVILLE — Eddie Ryan, a wounded Marine sergeant who lives in Ellenville, thought that if his health improved, duty would call again.
But the Marine Corps dashed that hope in May when it told Ryan, who’s 25 and must use a wheelchair, that he was being retired from military service.
“Cheated,” was how Ryan felt, he said by telephone on Wednesday.
But he’s feeling much different now, having learned his request for reinstatement was approved.
“It is my honor to serve my country,” he said.
Ryan’s father, Chris, said that after the family made numerous phone calls to government officials, asking them to intercede with military brass, a three-star general called the Ryan home last month and “told us that our request was being put through. He said, ‘This is what Marines do for their own.’”
Ryan will be removed from the Marine Corps’ permanent retirement list and be reinstated today at the Stewart Air National Guard base in New Windsor, his family said. As part of the process, he will get his photo taken and receive a new identification card.
Ryan, a graduate of Ellenville High School, was shot twice in the head in a friendly-fire incident on April 13, 2005, in Hasaybah, Iraq. The wounds resulted in a brain injury and left Ryan partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair, though he has undergone physical therapy ever since in the hope of being able to walk again.
“If you talk to Eddie, he will say he can do it again,” said his mother, Angie. “I have had personal experiences with other brave warriors and Marines who say they can do it again because their love for their country is so great.”
Mrs. Ryan said the family couldn’t believe the news in May when Eddie got a letter from the military saying he had been retired.
“It was devastating,” she said. “Our son had fought so hard to get to where he is, and to have it end like that, it wasn’t good. We were very upset.”
Ryan’s parents said they expected the Marine Corps to let their son keep his active-duty status for five years, beginning in December 2005, before being classified as retired.
“He felt let down,” Chris Ryan said. “This (keeping his active-duty status) was Eddie’s motivation. His motivation is to be back in the Marine Corps, wearing the uniform.”
The Marine’s parents are hoping for significant improvements in their son’s health in the next 18 months.
“We are just hoping and praying, hoping and praying,” Chris Ryan said. “We are just trying to stay positive.”
Eddie Ryan said being reinstated is an emotional lift.
It was a real “thumbs up,” he said.
Ellie
Marines reinstate wounded sergeant
Thursday, July 9, 2009
By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
ELLENVILLE — Eddie Ryan, a wounded Marine sergeant who lives in Ellenville, thought that if his health improved, duty would call again.
But the Marine Corps dashed that hope in May when it told Ryan, who’s 25 and must use a wheelchair, that he was being retired from military service.
“Cheated,” was how Ryan felt, he said by telephone on Wednesday.
But he’s feeling much different now, having learned his request for reinstatement was approved.
“It is my honor to serve my country,” he said.
Ryan’s father, Chris, said that after the family made numerous phone calls to government officials, asking them to intercede with military brass, a three-star general called the Ryan home last month and “told us that our request was being put through. He said, ‘This is what Marines do for their own.’”
Ryan will be removed from the Marine Corps’ permanent retirement list and be reinstated today at the Stewart Air National Guard base in New Windsor, his family said. As part of the process, he will get his photo taken and receive a new identification card.
Ryan, a graduate of Ellenville High School, was shot twice in the head in a friendly-fire incident on April 13, 2005, in Hasaybah, Iraq. The wounds resulted in a brain injury and left Ryan partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair, though he has undergone physical therapy ever since in the hope of being able to walk again.
“If you talk to Eddie, he will say he can do it again,” said his mother, Angie. “I have had personal experiences with other brave warriors and Marines who say they can do it again because their love for their country is so great.”
Mrs. Ryan said the family couldn’t believe the news in May when Eddie got a letter from the military saying he had been retired.
“It was devastating,” she said. “Our son had fought so hard to get to where he is, and to have it end like that, it wasn’t good. We were very upset.”
Ryan’s parents said they expected the Marine Corps to let their son keep his active-duty status for five years, beginning in December 2005, before being classified as retired.
“He felt let down,” Chris Ryan said. “This (keeping his active-duty status) was Eddie’s motivation. His motivation is to be back in the Marine Corps, wearing the uniform.”
The Marine’s parents are hoping for significant improvements in their son’s health in the next 18 months.
“We are just hoping and praying, hoping and praying,” Chris Ryan said. “We are just trying to stay positive.”
Eddie Ryan said being reinstated is an emotional lift.
It was a real “thumbs up,” he said.
Ellie