Wounded Marines talk, bond and heal

By: HILARY BENTMAN
The Intelligencer

A group of 20 guys gather around a picnic table under a thick canopy of trees, enjoying a beer and some tunes as the hot dogs cook on the grill.

They laugh and joke, catching up on each other's lives.

On the outside they seem healthy and vibrant, but these men carry wounds the world can't see.

Those scars are courtesy of multiple tours of duty in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines Weapons Company.

Some of these men still have metal lodged in their bodies, others are dealing with brain injuries, and many suffer stress that makes the smallest problems seem monumental.

But it is here, in each other's company, they seem most at ease.

"We don't talk to anyone else other than us," says Brian Wilson of Quincy, Mass.

The 26-year-old Marine corporal was one of 20 men from the 3/8 Weapons Company who made the trip to Maennerchor Field near Doylestown on Saturday for a reunion with his brothers-in-arms.

It's the group's second annual reunion, and was started by Marine Sgt. Nick Santoro, 24, of Doylestown, who was medically retired after his third tour in Iraq left him with traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and other physical wounds.

The reunion is a chance for these men to spend time with the only people who can truly understand what they've experienced and what they still deal with on a daily basis.

"They are getting together to heal and bond and are honoring their brothers who didn't make it back," said Santoro's father Joe, who hosted last year's reunion at his home. But the gathering is getting bigger so they moved it to the field.

Despite their injuries, which have ended their military careers, these men are the lucky ones. Twenty-five of their comrades never made it home.

"We were running out of people," said Santoro, a Central Bucks East graduate, who was wounded in Ramadi when his vehicle was blown up by an IED blast that catapulted him into the air.
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When Santoro's four-and-a-half years in the service ended, he struggled to get back to a normal life. He has dealt with short-term memory loss and migraines, making it difficult to work.

"Just thinking would give me a migraine," said Santoro.

Traumatic brain injuries have been called the "signature injury" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Research has shown that 19 percent of military personnel have come home with a possible traumatic brain injury, while 20 percent have displayed signs of post-traumatic stress or major depression, and 7 percent report possibly having both, according to a 2008 report by the RAND Corp.

Wilson was experiencing similar problems in Massachusetts. And he worried that if he didn't get help, he would end up in trouble, in jail, or worse.

Both men have found relief from a doctor in New Orleans.

Paul Harch, at Louisiana State University's Health Sciences Center, is conducting a study on using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat people with traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder.

Each patient receives 40 treatments in the chamber. The results for the Marines have been incredible, they said.

"I got my life back," said Wilson, who works as a bailiff and is hoping to become a firefighter.

Santoro and his father Joe have recently started the Veteran Owners Business Alliance to support enterprises started by those who served in the U.S. military.

The nonprofit organization is focused on economic development, providing support for men and women transitioning from military life to a civilian one, and offering internship and mentoring programs.

Hilary Bentman can be reached at 215-538-6380 or hbentman@phillyBurbs.com.

August 09, 2009 02:27 AM

Ellie