From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


An Iraqi man holds his drowning child in Karmah, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2008. Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., saw the limp child cradled in his father's arms and immediately began administering CPR, saving the boy’s life. Photo by Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis, Regimental Combat Team 1.


Sunday, 19 October 2008

KARMAH — Corpsmen are often considered the medical ray of light for Marines in a combat zone.

Sometimes their light shines bright enough to reach local Iraqis in need, whether during a routine combined medical engagement, or for one Iraqi child who almost drowned, on the spot emergency medical attention that saved his life.

Navy Chief Roger Buck, a 34-year-old battalion medical chief from Niceville, Fla., with Task Force 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, saw the limp child cradled in his father’s arms during an Iraqi key-leadership, joint-forces dismounted patrol.

Buck ran to the boy and immediately began administering CPR.

“[Our] interpreter explained I was like a doctor,” said Buck. “They told us they found him face first in a canal. He had a light, faint pulse. I tried to calm the parents down then immediately started applying medical treatment. I cleared his airway and started giving him CPR.”

Within a few minutes the boy regained consciousness, coughed up water and was taken to a local hospital for follow on care.

“He did everything he should have,” said Gunnery Sgt. John Schidlmeier, a platoon leader with Lava Dog Assesment Reaction Team, 1st Bn., 3rd Marines. “His actions were admirable; especially for the situation. He reacted even though he was posting security; made sure a Marine took his position and treated the kid immediately.”

Buck said he was merely in the right place at the right time and just doing his job, and the look of gratitude and appreciation on the terrified parents was all the thanks he needed.

Buck insisted that all Corpsmen carry a great load of responsibilities, starting from the first day of corpsman training, to adapt and be versatile with varying situations. To him, it was just another day of life in the operating forces.

“I was just happy I could bring the kid back,” he said.

Days later, the battalion recognized Buck’s heroic actions and awarded him a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his reactive measures and successful treatment.

“There are a thousand things a day that corpsmen do that go unseen,” he said. “It's always good to save a life. You don't always get to save everyone, so when you do it's very rewarding.”

(By Lance Cpl. Achilles Tsantarliotis, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines)

Labels: 1-3 Marines, combat medic, Good News, heroes, Regimental Combat Team 1, US Navy, USMC

U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Eugene Holiday Jr.

By Cpl. Rick Nelson
2nd Marine Division

HADITHA, Iraq, June 4, 2007 — Any duration of time away from friends and family can take a toll on the hearts and minds of all involved. The recent surges of deployments to Iraq are no different for servicemembers and their families. While some wish to never deploy again after their first or second tours, some Marines look forward to their deployments.

Such is the case of Gunnery Sgt. Eugene Holiday Jr., radio chief for Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who is voluntarily back in Iraq for his seventh time.

Holiday realized in 1992, during his senior year of high school, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a Marine.

“My father was actually disappointed when I decided to join because he wanted me to take one of the football scholarships I had been offered and go to college,” said the Jasper, Ala., native. “I had a friend who took a football scholarship the year before and during his first year of college he was injured and had nothing to fall back on, and I didn’t want to take that chance, so I decided the Marine Corps would be a better decision.”

Holiday left for Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., on Aug. 3, 1992, where he began recruit training with 2nd Battalion, Platoon 2098.

“When I went to boot camp I joined as open contract because I honestly didn’t care what job I got, as long as I was a Marine,” he said. “When I found out I was put into the communication field I was pretty happy, because it was a technical job.”

After completing basic training, Holiday checked into 3rd Surveillance Intelligence Group, Okinawa, Japan. During his service in the Corps, he has performed recruiting duty in Atlanta and has been on many deployments with various units.

“This is actually my seventh time to Iraq, but only my second full deployment,” said the 32-year-old. “With my previous units we would come to Iraq for only a few months at a time. I actually left Joint Forces in Norfolk, Va., to deploy with 1/3 because I figured it would enhance my career and to have the chance to lead Marines again. At Joint Forces I was always leaving out of nowhere, but with 1/3 I’ll be gone for seven months and will return to my family. It’s a lot more stable.

“Aside from that, I love being with 1/3 because, compared to my other units, 1/3 is no stranger to deploying and the Marines know what to do and what is expected of them.”

Holiday said he likes to do what the Marine Corps expects from him, but has been deployed every year since his son was born five years ago.

“The hardest part is being away from my wife and son,” he said. “ It’s time that I’ll never get back, but receiving letters and emails from them is something that pushes me and keeps my morale up.”

The current deployment has proven both challenging and demanding for Holiday because his platoon inherited a two-year-old communications network that is difficult to maintain.

He said it’s the Marines who work under who keep the communication up and running, and that is the highlight of the deployment for him.

Lance Cpl. Kevin A. Lawrence, a radio operator with Headquarters and Service Company, 1/3, described Holiday as very passionate about his job.

“He can be very serious at times but is still able to allow people to feel comfortable around him,” said Lawrence, a Hartford, Conn., native.

Lawrence added since Holiday has worked with him, he has seen their platoon grow tighter and work has become a lot more enjoyable.

“A lot of people think the key to communication is push to talk, but there’s a lot more to it,” he added. “I tell people all the time, we work all night so you can talk all day.”

Holiday said he looks forward to returning home in October and reuniting with his family.

“I plan on staying in the Marines for 20 years and then retiring,” he said. “Once I’m retired, I’d like to continue my career in the communication field and spending as much time as possible with my family.”

First Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment is a part of Regimental Combat Team 2, a Marine Corps command responsible for more than 30,000 square miles and 5,500 Marines, sailors and soldiers in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province.


Story originally posted at DefenseLink

Labels: 1-3 Marines, CT Heroes, heroes, Iraq, USMC