thedrifter
07-23-08, 06:55 AM
07/23/2008
Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan wars helping youngsters at Camp West Mar
By JOSH SHAW
josh.shaw@herald-mail.com
SABILLASVILLE, Md. — U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Kelly normally takes care of Marines, but right now, he is volunteering at Camp West Mar in Sabillasville, tending to the medical needs of young campers.
"It is like being on vacation," said Kelly, 29, a hospital corpsman, who is assigned to the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington D.C., and who has been sent twice to Italy. "It is very different from the work I usually do."
Corspmen like Kelly travel with the U.S. Marine Corps and tend to the medical needs of Marines in emergencies. The two groups rely on each other, said Kelly, who has been in the service for more than 10 years.
"Wherever you find a Marine, you find a corpsman," he said.
And that is how it was at Camp West Mar on Tuesday.
Marine Sgt. David Budwah, who spent five months in a hospital and now is an outpatient at the Bethesda (Md.) Naval Medical Center, visited the camp Tuesday to talk to more than 40 boys about friendship and privilege.
"Each and every one of you are connected," Budwah, 33, told the campers. "You may see each other again. It's a small world. Always be thankful for what someone has done for you."
Budwah said the Marine Corps is where he learned the lessons he shared with the 9-to-12-year-old boys.
"You always have a bond with the people you meet," he said. "There is a camaraderie with the guys I met."
Camper Spencer Shoemaker of Walkersville, Md., said he wants to join the Marines when he gets older and had never met a Marine before.
"I like to fight for our country and people who risk their lives for our country," said Shoemaker, 10, who said he likes the rifle range class at camp, but meeting a Marine "was the best."
Budwah, a radio and multichannel equipment operator in the Marines, served two tours in Iraq and was on his second tour in Afghanistan when he was hit by a hand grenade filled with glass, nails and other debris. He said he dove on a buddy to shield him from the blast, and the blast damaged half his face.
Now, only a few small scars can be seen on the right side of his face, but Budwah said the physical reminders aren't the worst of it.
"I have a few scars on my face and a couple on the arm, but the memories are the worst part," said Budwah, who joined the Marines in 1999.
J.R. Hamilton, a former Marine, now works for Marines Helping Marines, a nonprofit group that provides extensive support for injured Marine Corps personnel and Navy Corpsmen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He was responsible for organizing the trip to the camp.
His organization provides support at five locations across the country, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., and the Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
In addition to providing emotional and material support, the program also helps outpatient Marines, like Budwah, make the transition back to a normal life by getting them out of the hospital and doing things, Hamilton said.
Camp West Mar was one of those opportunities, and although two of the Marines scheduled to attend were unable to, Budwah provided the children with plenty of life lessons.
"I'm hoping that they take away from it, 'don't take things for granted,'" he said. "They're not just a nobody, they're a somebody, just like everyone else. There is always someone out there looking out for them."
The two-week, overnight camp, located just across the Washington County border in Frederick County, Md., is run and funded by the American Legion Western Maryland District, and accepts boys from Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties, said Camp Director Don Schildt. The Legion picks up the tab for the children to attend camp.
This is the 49th year the camp has been offered, and kids can participate in swimming, rifle, archery, softball and fishing classes during the day. In the evenings, entertainment is provided; a trip to Hersheypark caps off the camp, said Schildt, who has been director for 33 years.
"Self pride is our main thing," Schildt said. "Most of these boys normally don't get a chance to go to camp."
Ellie
Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan wars helping youngsters at Camp West Mar
By JOSH SHAW
josh.shaw@herald-mail.com
SABILLASVILLE, Md. — U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Kelly normally takes care of Marines, but right now, he is volunteering at Camp West Mar in Sabillasville, tending to the medical needs of young campers.
"It is like being on vacation," said Kelly, 29, a hospital corpsman, who is assigned to the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington D.C., and who has been sent twice to Italy. "It is very different from the work I usually do."
Corspmen like Kelly travel with the U.S. Marine Corps and tend to the medical needs of Marines in emergencies. The two groups rely on each other, said Kelly, who has been in the service for more than 10 years.
"Wherever you find a Marine, you find a corpsman," he said.
And that is how it was at Camp West Mar on Tuesday.
Marine Sgt. David Budwah, who spent five months in a hospital and now is an outpatient at the Bethesda (Md.) Naval Medical Center, visited the camp Tuesday to talk to more than 40 boys about friendship and privilege.
"Each and every one of you are connected," Budwah, 33, told the campers. "You may see each other again. It's a small world. Always be thankful for what someone has done for you."
Budwah said the Marine Corps is where he learned the lessons he shared with the 9-to-12-year-old boys.
"You always have a bond with the people you meet," he said. "There is a camaraderie with the guys I met."
Camper Spencer Shoemaker of Walkersville, Md., said he wants to join the Marines when he gets older and had never met a Marine before.
"I like to fight for our country and people who risk their lives for our country," said Shoemaker, 10, who said he likes the rifle range class at camp, but meeting a Marine "was the best."
Budwah, a radio and multichannel equipment operator in the Marines, served two tours in Iraq and was on his second tour in Afghanistan when he was hit by a hand grenade filled with glass, nails and other debris. He said he dove on a buddy to shield him from the blast, and the blast damaged half his face.
Now, only a few small scars can be seen on the right side of his face, but Budwah said the physical reminders aren't the worst of it.
"I have a few scars on my face and a couple on the arm, but the memories are the worst part," said Budwah, who joined the Marines in 1999.
J.R. Hamilton, a former Marine, now works for Marines Helping Marines, a nonprofit group that provides extensive support for injured Marine Corps personnel and Navy Corpsmen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He was responsible for organizing the trip to the camp.
His organization provides support at five locations across the country, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., and the Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
In addition to providing emotional and material support, the program also helps outpatient Marines, like Budwah, make the transition back to a normal life by getting them out of the hospital and doing things, Hamilton said.
Camp West Mar was one of those opportunities, and although two of the Marines scheduled to attend were unable to, Budwah provided the children with plenty of life lessons.
"I'm hoping that they take away from it, 'don't take things for granted,'" he said. "They're not just a nobody, they're a somebody, just like everyone else. There is always someone out there looking out for them."
The two-week, overnight camp, located just across the Washington County border in Frederick County, Md., is run and funded by the American Legion Western Maryland District, and accepts boys from Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties, said Camp Director Don Schildt. The Legion picks up the tab for the children to attend camp.
This is the 49th year the camp has been offered, and kids can participate in swimming, rifle, archery, softball and fishing classes during the day. In the evenings, entertainment is provided; a trip to Hersheypark caps off the camp, said Schildt, who has been director for 33 years.
"Self pride is our main thing," Schildt said. "Most of these boys normally don't get a chance to go to camp."
Ellie