November 2009

Sound Off Letter of the Month

(Leatherneck will pay $25 for the Sound Off Letter of the Month.)

While surfing on liberty, I had an unfortunate accident and broke my foot. It has made me realize two things: 1) Crutches are only fun when you play with someone else’s. 2) I chose the perfect time and place to get an injury. By this I mean, if you’re going to be living somewhere and be injured, make sure you’re on a Marine Corps base. I’m currently a student at the Marine Corps Communications and Elec­tronics School, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

On Monday of my first week with the crutches, I was making my way toward sick call to turn in my injury report from the emergency room. While hobbling along, a truck pulled over and the driver told me to hop in. He was a corpsman just arriving at Twentynine Palms, so it worked out well for both of us because now he knew where he would be working. He was actually surprised that they didn’t have a duty driver to take us from place to place. I jokingly replied that perhaps the Air Force has that kind of funding and manpower.

On the way home from the doctor, I stopped so I could salute a couple of passing officers. They stopped and asked me how I had gotten injured and how long I’d be out of the fight. I only wish I had a better story. They wished me well and I carried on.

The next day I was at the Exchange and had two different Marines offer to shop for me. I told them that I would be on my crutches for a while and would have to learn how to get around without all of the help. Carrying a shopping basket while on crutches is a pain in the neck, and perhaps some of that Marine Corps pride got in the way on this occasion. My soup cans might not be so dented!

Yesterday, I had to go to the hospital for a CT scan on my foot to verify what the emergency room staff came up with. While walking out of the hospital, I was halfway to the truck that my buddy loaned me when I heard, “Hey, Devil Dog! Where ya headed? I’ll give you a lift if you need.” I turned around to see that a first sergeant was the one offering a lowly private first class like me the ride. I thanked him profusely and told him I had a vehicle. He told me to heal up fast and stay strong.

Today, I started out the day by taking my first fall on the crutches. I instinctive­ly tried to catch myself by using my bad foot. The pain was excruciating and my leg buckled immediately. For the sake of my pride, I looked around quickly and found that luckily nobody was around to see the “old man” go down! I picked myself up and made my way to the truck.

At my follow-up for the CT scan, I found out that my foot was even worse off. I possibly have ligament damage to go along with the original double break in the bone. Could the day get any better? I think not. So I headed back to my barracks and was just starting up the same stairs I had tripped on only an hour before when a Marine I didn’t know called out to me, asking me to wait for him. He said that he’d rather fireman’s carry me up the stairs than watch me struggle up the three flights. Again my pride kicked in and after repeatedly thanking him and declining, he relented and followed me up to make sure I didn’t fall backwards.

I’ve got a minimum of six more weeks on the crutches, and this kind of treatment toward me will definitely not stop. I’ve got a base full of Marines who only want to see me get better. I don’t know the names of all the Marines who have offered me help so far, but for their kindness I will be forever grateful. I’m so glad I made the choice to join the Marine Corps family. It reassures me that despite some people’s opinion, America is not a society headed down the drain. There are 202,000 Marines who are fighting for our country and still know how to do something as simple as opening a door for a perfect stranger. I am confident that as long as the Marine Corps is around, Ameri­ca will be just fine.

To all the Marines who have gone out of their way to help me, God bless you. I’m sure every Marine who has been injured has experienced similar treatment. It’s not just a Twentynine Palms thing. It’s a Marine Corps thing. We are brothers and sisters in arms. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for one another. We share a relationship that one has to experience to understand.

PFC Joel Ballard

MCCES, MCACGC Twentynine Palms, Calif.

• Thanks for all you do, Semper Fi, and Happy Birthday, Marine.—Sound Off Ed.

Marines stationed in Peking and Tient­sin, China, and Iceland wore the “Mongolian p***-cutter” made of lamb’s wool or, reputedly, cat’s fur.(Courtesy of the National Museum of the Marine Corps)

Petty Officer First Class Adrian Trollip, a Seabee builder assigned to NMCB-5, home-based at Port Hueneme, Calif., helps construct the MEB-Afghani­stan combat operations center at Camp Leatherneck.
(Photo by Cpl Aaron Rooks)

Marine veteran Wesley I. Slagle sent us this 1922 photograph of his father, John W. Slagle, taken while he was serving in the Dominican Republic with the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force during the “Banana Wars.” John Slagle also served in USS Utah and USS St. Louis.
(Photo courtesy of Marine