marinefamily5
04-08-05, 12:08 PM
Parris Island recruit Bret Moran died of myocarditis, a rare viral infection in his heart, which prevented his heart from working properly and ultimately caused him not to wake up during the 54-hour Crucible on Nov. 18, according to a Marine Corps investigation released Thursday.
Moran was in the 57th of 70 days of recruit training when he failed to respond to instructor attempts to wake him during the intense training exercise held in the 10th week of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island's 12-week boot camp.
The Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps investigation was conducted by a Parris Island officer after an initial query by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service determined that no criminal wrongdoing was connected to 18-year-old Moran's death, Parris Island spokesman Maj. Ken White said.
Results of an independent autopsy conducted at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston concluded that Moran's death was due to natural causes, the investigation report states.
Although Moran, a Bronx, N.Y., native, had suffered from pneumonia about a month before his death, White said the autopsies showed no connection between the two maladies.
"His lungs were clear, and the autopsy indicated that he had recovered from the pneumonia," White said Thursday. "The pneumonia is a bacterial condition, whereas the myocarditis is a viral condition. It's separate and distinct."
Myocarditis is caused by a viral infection but may also occur during or after various viral, bacterial or parasitic infections, according to the National Institutes of Health Web site. The heart muscle becomes inflamed and weakened, causing symptoms of heart failure, which may mimic a heart attack, according to the Web site.
The report about Moran's death states that "the pathologist opined that the weakened state of (Moran's) heart, combined with the infection in (his heart) and the demands of training at the Crucible may have fatigued his heart to a point that when (he) laid down in his sleeping bag, his heart function slowed and finally stopped."
White said Moran had been checked out before the Crucible began as part of the depot's standard operating procedure and had exhibited no symptoms that would make his superiors or doctors think he couldn't successfully complete the grueling 54-hour ordeal.
"There were no indicators that he was predisposed not to be successful," White said.
The investigation into Moran's death also stated that myocarditis is an unusual condition that is difficult to detect.
"That diagnosis of (Moran's) heart condition was unlikely due to the microscopic nature of the infection, the presence of symptoms that can be attributed to other factors and the frequent absence of symptoms," the report states.
The investigation showed that Moran's drill instructor and two other officials didn't ensure that Moran followed up with his pneumonia-related medical appointments. The report recommends administrative or disciplinary action against the three, which White said could come in the next month.
Although the drill instructors' actions were not connected to Moran's death, according to the report, White said they were still mistakes.
"Even though the errors were incidental to the investigation, they were errors nonetheless," he said. "Accountability transcends any of that."
Officials at Parris Island are now looking into ways to streamline and automate the medical processes to eliminate any confusion, he said.
Meanwhile, an investigation continues into the February death of another recruit, 19-year-old Jason Tharp, during water training, White said, but he said he did not know when it would be completed.
"It'll come, that's all I can say," White said of three investigations into Tharp's death. "Nobody is going to be in a hurry to get it done for the sake of convenience."
In the opinion section of the Moran report, the investigating officer wrote that Moran may have intentionally hid some of his true medical symptoms from medical personnel and his drill instructors. Moran apparently had lingering breathing problems and was coughing up blood in the weeks leading up to his death, the report states.
"This was not done out of a lack of character or integrity but rather out of his burning desire to become a U.S. Marine and his fear of being dropped from training if his true condition were made known," the officer wrote.
White said recruits will sometimes downplay injuries because they don't want to delay getting through the arduous boot camp process.
"To a certain extent, you have to rely on somebody reporting a problem, unless it's apparent to the drill instructor," he said.
Disclosure of any medical problem is essential to both the safety of recruits and their successful completion of their time on Parris Island, White said.
"From the day after they step on the yellow footprints, they're told to give full disclosure of medical problems, due to the intensity of training," White said. "Otherwise, it can snowball and multiply in other ways."
Moran was in the 57th of 70 days of recruit training when he failed to respond to instructor attempts to wake him during the intense training exercise held in the 10th week of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island's 12-week boot camp.
The Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps investigation was conducted by a Parris Island officer after an initial query by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service determined that no criminal wrongdoing was connected to 18-year-old Moran's death, Parris Island spokesman Maj. Ken White said.
Results of an independent autopsy conducted at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston concluded that Moran's death was due to natural causes, the investigation report states.
Although Moran, a Bronx, N.Y., native, had suffered from pneumonia about a month before his death, White said the autopsies showed no connection between the two maladies.
"His lungs were clear, and the autopsy indicated that he had recovered from the pneumonia," White said Thursday. "The pneumonia is a bacterial condition, whereas the myocarditis is a viral condition. It's separate and distinct."
Myocarditis is caused by a viral infection but may also occur during or after various viral, bacterial or parasitic infections, according to the National Institutes of Health Web site. The heart muscle becomes inflamed and weakened, causing symptoms of heart failure, which may mimic a heart attack, according to the Web site.
The report about Moran's death states that "the pathologist opined that the weakened state of (Moran's) heart, combined with the infection in (his heart) and the demands of training at the Crucible may have fatigued his heart to a point that when (he) laid down in his sleeping bag, his heart function slowed and finally stopped."
White said Moran had been checked out before the Crucible began as part of the depot's standard operating procedure and had exhibited no symptoms that would make his superiors or doctors think he couldn't successfully complete the grueling 54-hour ordeal.
"There were no indicators that he was predisposed not to be successful," White said.
The investigation into Moran's death also stated that myocarditis is an unusual condition that is difficult to detect.
"That diagnosis of (Moran's) heart condition was unlikely due to the microscopic nature of the infection, the presence of symptoms that can be attributed to other factors and the frequent absence of symptoms," the report states.
The investigation showed that Moran's drill instructor and two other officials didn't ensure that Moran followed up with his pneumonia-related medical appointments. The report recommends administrative or disciplinary action against the three, which White said could come in the next month.
Although the drill instructors' actions were not connected to Moran's death, according to the report, White said they were still mistakes.
"Even though the errors were incidental to the investigation, they were errors nonetheless," he said. "Accountability transcends any of that."
Officials at Parris Island are now looking into ways to streamline and automate the medical processes to eliminate any confusion, he said.
Meanwhile, an investigation continues into the February death of another recruit, 19-year-old Jason Tharp, during water training, White said, but he said he did not know when it would be completed.
"It'll come, that's all I can say," White said of three investigations into Tharp's death. "Nobody is going to be in a hurry to get it done for the sake of convenience."
In the opinion section of the Moran report, the investigating officer wrote that Moran may have intentionally hid some of his true medical symptoms from medical personnel and his drill instructors. Moran apparently had lingering breathing problems and was coughing up blood in the weeks leading up to his death, the report states.
"This was not done out of a lack of character or integrity but rather out of his burning desire to become a U.S. Marine and his fear of being dropped from training if his true condition were made known," the officer wrote.
White said recruits will sometimes downplay injuries because they don't want to delay getting through the arduous boot camp process.
"To a certain extent, you have to rely on somebody reporting a problem, unless it's apparent to the drill instructor," he said.
Disclosure of any medical problem is essential to both the safety of recruits and their successful completion of their time on Parris Island, White said.
"From the day after they step on the yellow footprints, they're told to give full disclosure of medical problems, due to the intensity of training," White said. "Otherwise, it can snowball and multiply in other ways."