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Then Spc.
Ryan
Martinette,
a combat
medic,
reeled
from the
blast of
an
improvised
explosive
device
at
almost
point-blank
range.
Regaining
his
senses,
he
picked
up his
medic's
bag but
found it
drenched
with
blood.
His own.
That was
a little
over two
years
ago on
the
trash
and
debris-strewn
streets
of
Baghdad,
Iraq,
where he
and his
unit
happened
upon a
wounded
Iraqi
civilian
and
endured
some
rather
anxious
moments
thereafter.
The
Medical
Department
Activity
Soldier
earned a
Bronze
Star
with
Valor
for his
actions
in the
summer
of 2006.
He was
presented
with it
during a
ceremony
held
Aug. 22,
2008, at
Kenner
Army
Health
Clinic,
Fort
Lee,
Va.,
where he
still
works.
Maj.
Gen.
James E.
Chambers,
Combined
Arms
Support
Command
and Fort
Lee
commanding
general,
was on
hand to
present
the
award.
He said
combat
medics
put
themselves
in great
danger
to care
for
fellow
Soldiers,
and
their
value is
often
understated.
"Until
you go
to war,
you
don't
know or
appreciate
who or
what a
medic
is,"
Chambers
said.
Martinette
wanted
to be a
medic
and
wanted
to go to
war. He
joined
four
years
ago,
knowing
full
well the
country
was
engaged
in a
bloody
terrorist
conflict
and the
sacrifices
he would
have to
make if
he ever
found himself on the
battlefield. |
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"When you
join in a time of war, you understand
the risks of that war," the 23-year-old
said. "I was ready to go because I was
ready to make a difference ... That was
my goal - to make sure that, when we did
go, the men I was responsible for
wouldn't die."
But prior to his deployment, Martinette
wasn't always willing to give something
of himself. The Virginia Beach native
subscribed to a "me first" mentality,
was self-absorbed and only concerned
with endeavors that benefited him.
"I was immature when I came into the
military," he said. "I thought that I
was always going to get what I wanted.
It was all about me."
Martinette was posted to Fort Hood,
Texas, in 2003. In December 2005, he
deployed to Iraq with Company A, 1st
Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry
Division. His duties were to provide
health care to the infantrymen, wherever
missions may take them. That essentially
meant that he was a foot Soldier with a
stethoscope.
"When they march, we march," said
Martinette, one of five medics in the
company of about 130 Soldiers. On the
morning of Aug. 18, 2006, the unit was
patrolling an area of the city when
members of a U.S. engineer unit were hit
by an IED.
"They needed help," recalled Martinette.
"They didn't have enough support to
cordon off the area to try to find out
who had detonated the IED. We responded
to their call for help."
When Martinette's unit, mounted in
Bradley Fighting Vehicles, had arrived
on the scene, there were a number of
concussion injuries. The most serious of
the casualties, an Iraqi civilian, lay
on his back in the middle of the street,
bleeding from his nose and ears, said
Martinette.
"They dropped the ramp of the Bradley
and said, 'Go and get them,'" he said,
"no different than any other time that
had occurred." The infantrymen cleared
the site and Martinette approached the
man, who looked to be about 50 years
old.
"He was very incoherent from the blast,
and he reached down into his pants,"
said Martinette, who was at that point
standing over the victim. "We thought
that he had a weapon or detonation
device."
It was a moment that underscored the
various dangers U.S. military personnel
face every day in combat zones,
oftentimes with deadly results. In this
case, the Iraqi's action was harmless;
the victim removed from his groin area a
bag full of U.S. and Iraqi currency.
"He looked at me, handed the money to me
and said something (in Arabic)," said
Martinette. "I found out later (through
the on-scene interpreter) that he'd
rather I have the money than the
insurgents ...."
Martinette, still standing over the
victim along with several over Soldiers,
began a movement to kneel next to the
man. "As soon as I bent down to grab the
casualty, the bomb detonated," he said.
Miraculously, nobody died that day,
according to Martinette.
Thinking about his life, he said his
wife has brought a compassionate side to
a Soldier who had to be tough all the
time. That compassion has pushed him to
think that the war and the people
involved in it are bigger than himself
or any selfish want he could ever have.
Martinette reenlisted during his medal
presentation ceremony and thinks he will
serve 20 years in the Army. He said time
spent in Iraq was priceless and serving
as a medic is the best way to create a
legacy of giving back to his fellow man.
Excerpts from article by T. Anthony
Bell, Fort Lee Public Affairs Office,
Sept. 5, 2008 |
