Troops pick up the pieces after injuries
By: Meghan Cooke, Staff Writer
Posted: 3/31/08
CAMP LEJEUNE - While helping to move an Iraqi battalion across Ramadi in 2005, Marine Ray Baronie's vehicle suffered a rocket attack.

Both his legs were crushed, and when he woke up in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., he discovered he was facing amputation.

Nearly three years and 46 operations later, Capt. Baronie serves as the executive officer of Wounded Warrior Battalion East at Camp Lejeune, where wounded Marines can share their experiences, build camaraderie and heal.

Baronie's involvement began as he lay in a hospital bed. Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, a Marine recovering from a 2004 traumatic brain injury, approached him with the proposition of joining a new battalion.

"I'm sitting here and I don't know if I'm going to lose my legs," Baronie said. "I didn't know what he was talking about."

With the number of servicemen wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq reaching more than 31,000 - an estimated 877 of whom are from North Carolina - units like the Wounded Warrior Battalion address a growing need for emotional and physical support.

The barracks, named Maxwell Hall after their founder, now serve as a holding ground for an all-time high of 125 Marines and sailors in the final stages of recovery.

Supported by his prosthetic right leg and crutches, Baronie walked through the barracks earlier this month with a painstaking but sturdy stride, addressing Marines by name.

The barracks, which resemble a dorm, were filled with young men - some playing pool, a few working out in the barracks' gym and others watching CNN's war coverage.

Cpl. Brandon Love, 22, a member of the battalion since October 2005, was injured when his Humvee was hit by a suicide bomber.

Suffering from shrapnel wounds, he can't feel or close his right hand. He is waiting to be discharged from the Corps and expects to go home within months.

Love said the barracks have allowed him to form friendships with people to whom he can relate.

"I don't talk with my wife about a lot of the stuff I went through," he said. "That's stuff they don't need to see."

Many of the Marines are not dealing solely with physical issues. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most common injuries, Baronie said, adding that even those not suffering from PTSD often experience emotional distress.

"The Marine comes here and he sees the next guy going through the same thing he's going through," Baronie said. "Then he sees the other guy that can't sleep at night. He sees another guy who has flashbacks, and they realize that they're not the only ones going through these problems."

He said sharing experiences is therapeutic.

"I like to think we have 125 certified psychologists walking around because sometimes the uniform side does a better job than what a licensed physician can do only because that Marine wants to talk to somebody else in uniform. They want to talk to a brother."

Simply living in an area surrounded by the military proves advantageous, Baronie added.

"It's easier for me to walk around in shorts with my prosthetic on here because I won't get the same looks as I do at home back up in Pennsylvania," he said.

"When you're walking around here with a short haircut and someone sees you're jacked up, they know it happened in Iraq or Afghanistan. You don't get the stares. Kids don't even look twice."

No one was prepared for the number of war wounded, said Andrew Butterworth, a benefits liaison with The Wounded Warrior Project.

Butterworth, a former Army sergeant who lost his right leg in Iraq, helps wounded veterans file for benefits from Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.

Systemic problems early on in the war included establishing long-term care, discharging the wounded before proper care networks were implemented and failing to recognize the impact of traumatic brain injuries, but the government has been taking steps to correct those errors, he said.

The Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg hosts the Warrior Transition Battalion, which currently aids about 500 wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Shannon Lynch, spokeswoman for the center, said medical and technological advances today allow more soldiers to be saved on the front lines than in any past war.

Many of the wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune are waiting for the results of physical evaluations that will determine their level of disability. Others are waiting for medical clearance that will allow them to return to their units.

"You get the guy who gets hurt and immediately says, 'I wanna get back to the fight right now. Take this cast off me. I want to go back with my brothers,'" Baronie said.

But after long stays in hospitals and outpatient facilities, he said many realize their hopes were not realistic.

"That's usually a rocky emotional road for some of them because you realize you can't do what you love, and then they have to figure out what you're going to do next."

Baronie said most of the wounded will take disability benefits and return to civilian life, where opportunities range from further education to jobs with companies that specifically recruit former servicemen for their work ethic.

Many who have recovered aren't phased by the prospect of returning to a war zone.

"Their family is back there," Baronie said. "They're dying to get back - not to war - but to fight alongside their buddy. It's just a family thing."



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.

Ellie