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Marine Returns To Iraq For Closure
(May 20, 2011) | 
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Retired Marine Cpl. Donny Daughenbaugh rides in the cockpit of an Air Force C-130. Daughenbaugh was one of the wounded warriors who participated in Operation Proper Exit IX and stepped back into Iraq, April 25,
2011. |
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BAGHDAD, IRAQ (5/17/2011) - During the height of the war in Iraq,
patrols, setting up checkpoints and vehicle searches were standard
and occurred every day. Most of those ended without any type of
conflict or casualties.
For Marine Cpl. Donny Daughenbaugh,
during a vehicle search in Amadiya, Iraq, Oct. 12, 2004, ended with
a medical evacuation to a surgical hospital.
During a routine
vehicle search a red sedan sped ahead of Daughenbaugh and tried to
run over one of his team members and, while doing so, the driver was
hit by multiple gunshots. In the midst of chaos the driver reached
down and pulled out an AK-47 and pointed it in Daughenbaugh's
direction and opened fire.
“I saw a couple of flashes and I
hit the deck,” said Daughenbaugh. “I saw a couple more and it hit
me. It felt like I was hit in the face by a baseball bat.”
Daughenbaugh then blacked out and as he came to, he saw a puddle of
blood and as any good Marine would do, he pushed |
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his M-16 out of the way. |
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“As funny as it was, I did not want to get my blood on my rifle,” he
said.
Daughenbaugh tried to get a hold of his team to let them
know he was injured, but no one could quite understand what he was
saying.
“I radioed my team to let them know I was hit, but when I
did, I sounded like I was 100 years old,” said Daughenbaugh. “I just put
my hand up in the air because I couldn't move.”
Daughenbaugh was
then medevaced out of the area.
“A Navy reserve neurosurgeon
checked me out,” said Daughenbaugh. “I remember seeing and feeling his
finger go into my face and his thumb swirling around. He could feel it
had broken my jaw, so they put me on a helicopter and took me to Baghdad
where they put my face back together.”
Daughenbaugh was then
transferred to the National Naval Medical Center - Bethesda, where the
doctors decided to leave the bullet in his head. He had nerve damage and
couldn't move the left side of his face for more than a year. He is
still struggling to control the muscles in his tongue.
Despite
his injuries, Daughenbaugh continues to work with troops as a retired
Marine.
“Since 2005 I've been working for an organization that
does financial aid and educational support for wounded troops,” said
Daughenbaugh. “Being around those guys is therapeutic in itself.”
“Just being around combat wounded troops and knowing their stories
makes me feel like the lucky one,” he said. “It instills the spirit of
not being able to quit. It's motivating and inspirational.”
Daughenbaugh decided to make the trip back to Iraq one last time to help
himself in the healing process. He participated in Operation Proper Exit
IX and stepped onto Iraqi soil April 25 and walked out on his own terms
on May 1. | |
Article and photo By USMC Sgt. Joseph Vine
305th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Copyright 2011
Provided
through DVIDS
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