Heroic Marine

[USNAviator]

This was sent to me by Advanced. I thought it should be seen here on LN. Thank you Russ!!!


Heroic Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter Honored

In a society that too often uses the term “Hero,” I pass this along to put things in the proper perspective.



Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, gets support from his fiance Jordan Gleaton, in the state senate chambers, where Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, presented a proclamation honoring Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter



Jordan Gleaton helps her fiance, Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter with a sip of water after a press conference

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Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, flanked by his parents, Robert and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, laughs during a press conference
Heroic Marine honored

Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter, his face missing an eye and crisscrossed with deep scars, stood on the floor of the S.C. Senate on Wednesday to receive the thanks of his state.
Carpenter, 21, of Gilbert lost the eye, most of his teeth and use of his right arm from a grenade blast Nov. 21 near Marjah, Helmand Province , Afghanistan ..
Friends and family say he threw himself in front of the grenade to protect his best friend in Afghanistan , Cpl. Nick Eufrazio.
Carpenter just remembers seeing the grenade. Then a white flash. Then a fellow Marine telling him he would be fine.
Then, four weeks later, he woke up in a hospital in Germany .
“The second I woke up, I saw my family by my bedside,” he said.
The Senate resolution noted Carpenter “suffered catastrophic wounds in the cause of freedom” and “has shown himself worthy of the name Marine.”
Carpenter shook almost every senator’s hand — with his left hand — after the reading.
He said his experience was nothing unusual in war. People back home, worried about the economy and gas prices, he said, should remember Marines and soldiers are still being maimed and killed.
“The light is on me right now,” he said. “But I’m hoping what happened to me will help remind people that things like this happen every day and people don’t see it. I’m proud of what my fellow Marines have done there and are doing there now.”
Helmand Province is one of the most dangerous places in the world.
Carpenter and a 12-man squad from his 9th Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, were on patrol outside Marjah. They were in the fifth month of a seven-month deployment.
They were in a village they called Shadier, between two other villages they named Shady and Shadiest.
They had been in hard combat, he said, as the Marines were pushing out farther from their base, expanding the territory they controlled.
“For two days we had been hit pretty hard,” he said. “We moved into (enemy) territory, and they didn’t like it.”
He was fighting on a rooftop when the grenade hit.
“I took 99 percent of the blast,” he said. “But one little piece of shrapnel got by me and went into (Eufrazio’s) brain.”
According to Sen. Jake Knotts, who sponsored and read the proclamation, Eufrazio suffered a serious brain injury and is recovering in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland . He is now speaking and talking.
Carpenter also spent most of his recovery time — which so far has included 25 surgeries and more than 100 hours of physical therapy — at Bethesda .
There, he said, he was inspired by the other patients, many of whom had no legs or no eyes or no arms.
“I’m lucky,” he said.
Knotts said that Carpenter has been nominated for the Medal of Honor, adding, “And I think this kid deserves it..”
But Carpenter said that “people saying they are proud of me is enough.”
That doesn’t surprise his 20-year-old fiancee, Jordan Gleaton.
“I haven’t heard him complain one time,” Gleaton said. “I would be a mess.”
“It’s been a tough three months,” she added. “I don’t feel like I’m 20 anymore.”
Carpenter’s parents, Robert and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, say they are proud of the way their son has handled his horrific injuries.
They call him “our miracle.”

This is a far cry from the way Viet Nam vets were received.

[Mongoose]

In 1969, I was sent to Philly Naval Hosp. for bone graft surgery. My brother Captain Kirk was also there. Whose wounds were so terrible, hes lucky to be with us today. And were lucky to have him with us. During my four months there. I saw many Marines with multiple amputations. Severe wounds to the head. And a few Marines with no arms or legs. I considered my wounds very trivial compared to these Marines. Although their life would be changed forever. They never worried about their self. They worried about their brother Marines back in Nam. Never saw, not even one, feel sorry for his self. Most only regretted that they were forced to leave their unit. To these Marines it was like being taken away from their family and leaving them in harms way. And that was the only pain you saw in their eyes. I can assure you, it changed the way I look at men today. Every time I hear a Marine whining about how bad they have it. I think back to the ones that really had it bad. And never whined. And for all they endured. All they got was a medical discharge and a ticket home. I fought side by side with Fistfu before he was wounded, and Advanced at Meade River. These Marines and all that served in Nam, deserved so much more than a disgusted look, and a cold shoulder. We dont want anything today, except that it doesnt happen again.

[DocGreek]

....I haven't forgotten, and I'll NEVER forget.
SEMPER FI....Doc Greek.....

[FoxtrotOscar]

In 1969, I was sent to Philly Naval Hosp. for bone graft surgery. My brother Captain Kirk was also there. Whose wounds were so terrible, hes lucky to be with us today. And were lucky to have him with us. During my four months there. I saw many Marines with multiple amputations. Severe wounds to the head. And a few Marines with no arms or legs. I considered my wounds very trivial compared to these Marines. Although their life would be changed forever. They never worried about their self. They worried about their brother Marines back in Nam. Never saw, not even one, feel sorry for his self. Most only regretted that they were forced to leave their unit. To these Marines it was like being taken away from their family and leaving them in harms way. And that was the only pain you saw in their eyes. I can assure you, it changed the way I look at men today. Every time I hear a Marine whining about how bad they have it. I think back to the ones that really had it bad. And never whined. And for all they endured. All they got was a medical discharge and a ticket home. I fought side by side with Fistfu before he was wounded, and Advanced at Meade River. These Marines and all that served in Nam, deserved so much more than a disgusted look, and a cold shoulder. We dont want anything today, except that it doesnt happen again.

No truer words Mongoose.. Semper Fi...

[USNAviator]

Question, there are three photos in my original post, can everyone see them???

For some strange reason they tend to not be seen at all times

[Mongoose]

Question, there are three photos in my original post, can everyone see them???

For some strange reason they tend to not be seen at all times

I cant see anything like a pic. Dan.

[FoxtrotOscar]

3 red "X"'s...

[USNAviator]

3 red "X"'s...

Thanks for the feedback. There were 3 pictures of the Marine as you can tell by the descriptions. I tested it before I uploaded it and all three showed up when I posted but now they are no longer available

Mike I don't see the 'x's", I see nothing at all just like Billy. The three pictures were of a badly disfigured Marine and his family

[Old Marine]

I see 3 red X's.

[linda1945]

Thanks for the feedback. There were 3 pictures of the Marine as you can tell by the descriptions. I tested it before I uploaded it and all three showed up when I posted but now they are no longer available

Mike I don't see the 'x's", I see nothing at all just like Billy. The three pictures were of a badly disfigured Marine and his family

That's what I also see is 3 red X's

[linda1945]

Thanks for the feedback. There were 3 pictures of the Marine as you can tell by the descriptions. I tested it before I uploaded it and all three showed up when I posted but now they are no longer available

Mike I don't see the 'x's", I see nothing at all just like Billy. The three pictures were of a badly disfigured Marine and his family

3 red X's is all I see also.

[FistFu68]

As my Brother Marine lay dying of His Wound's in November of '68,all that He asked was Who was gonna take care of His Family?His name was L/Cpl. Jimmy Crandell of Grant Michigan,I've thought of Jimmy almost every day of My Life when I was Sober.He was 1 Helluva Marine,as were they all.I'll never speak of this again,as have I not done so since that Very Sad day in a F**king Rice Paddy on the other side of the World.S/F

[silverdollar]

I got three red xs and a black dot,


nevermind the black dot was a fly.

[03Foxtrot]

Jack,
I am truly sorry for the loss of your friend and brother Marine on that day in Nam.
You are right as rain, all we had was each other and it is our legacy as survivors to make sure no one forgets them. Those who fell in battle and those who died later from wounds, seen and unseen, we must never allow their memory to fade. All we have is each other now and that's enough for me.
Semper Fi, Scott

[Zulu 36]

Tough kid. We'll see if he gets the Blue Max.

My oldest daughter repeated often that wounded Marines coming through Bagram and Ramstein did not act like victims. They were always polite, worried that they were inconveniencing the medical staff, and often told jokes when they weren't looking at her boobs when she was in a t-shirt. She knew they were OK when that happened. They always worried about the guys left behind at their units. She also liked being addressed as "Staff Sergeant" and not just "Hey, Sarge."

She said that Marines were particularly worried about their units and often asked the Marine liaisons to get info for them. They rarely worried about themselves except for feeling like they were abandoning their unit, no matter how badly wounded they were. The few Marines who fell into self-pity usually got snapped out of it by the other Marines there.

She said the officers and NCOs were the worst in feeling like they were running away. They always asked if previously casevaced Marines from their units were still there in Bagram hoping to see them. Some were, most weren't.

My daughter said that because I had been a Marine, and it showed all through her life, she understood their feelings better than a lot of Air Force and Army medics. They would take good care of the wounded, but couldn't grasp WHY those Marines actually wanted, even demanded, to go back. No grasp on esprit d'corps. No grasp on the feeling of loyalty to other Marines.

I think I feel more sorry for people who don't understand the concept of esprit d'corps than I do for the wounded Marines. The others are deprived of an important healing spirit should they become injured.

Note: My daughter said that wounded Army infantrymen tended to act like Marines did, but a lot of Army non-grunts were whiners and couldn't get out of Bagram fast enough to please them.