Posted on 03/15/2011 10:10:45 PM PDT by Dubya
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.
The Senate resolution noted Carpenter "suffered catastrophic wounds in the cause of freedom" and "has shown himself worthy of the name Marine."
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.
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.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Thank you for your service Marine.
May God bless them, every one.
Tatt
From my bowels (heart) I truely thank you Marine Lance Col William Kyle Carpenter. You and ALL your fellow soliders are true American heroes, bar none.
Fine young man, wears his wounds of war as a badge of honor.
This handsome face is a shining example of "Semper Fidelis".
God Bless you Marine!
I believe I am correct in stating that more Medal of Honor recipients have received their medals from jumping on grenades than for any other single action. A large percentage of those have been awarded Posthumously.
Ping!
True Hero! We salute you.
South Carolina
Ping
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