Posted on 12/08/2004 9:21:03 AM PST by zlala
Marine wounded during battle for Fallujah recuperating at mother's Victorville home
By GRETCHEN LOSI/Staff Writer
Photos by John Galayda/Staff Photographer
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Battle Jr., 19, sits in the living room of his mother's Victorville home Saturday during a homecoming party. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Battle Jr. was in Fallujah only a week when he found himself in the middle of a firefight that left him seriously wounded.
Now he cannot walk. He's lost the use of his left arm, and his body is riddled with shrapnel.
He's now recuperating for a month at the home of his mother, Sonia Cabrera, in Victorville. He is trying to figure out what he will do, now that his life has changed.
"I joined to be a part of the war on terror and chose to go into infantry," Battle said, with his wife, Devann, nearby. "I was exactly where I wanted to be when I got injured."
Battle was part of the recent siege to gain control of Fallujah, which he likens to "the bad part" of Los Angeles.
"It's like the L.A. ghettos. The streets are narrow, houses are small and it smells real bad," Battle said. "I felt like I was in hell's waiting room."
Stationed with the 1st Platoon, Company C of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, his unit's objective was to reach and secure the city's main road, located in the middle of Fallujah.
"We had four days to reach our objective — we got there in 12 hours," Battle said. "That's how much adrenaline and determination was in us."
He said one of his company's major missions was to clear and secure the city's buildings of insurgents.
"We would shoot at (a targeted building) with rockets, shoot the windows out, clear the building and go to the next one," Battle said.
It was while conducting that assignment on Nov. 24 that Battle's life changed.
He said he was the second Marine to storm into an Iraqi home and unable to get a clear view of the second floor. As he approached a viewpoint, a barrage of bullets filled the room. In a panic, he said all he could think to do was aim his weapon at the ceiling and start firing.
"I could see hundreds of bullets coming down from the ceiling around me as mine were going up," Battle said. "I had to get out of the room."
During his attempt to find cover, one of the insurgents fired a shot that tore through Battle's left calf and his gun, rendering them both useless when he needed them most.
"I was stuck there, and I couldn't walk and my weapon wouldn't shoot," Battle said.
Somehow he managed to drag himself outside, where a Navy corpsman rushed to give his wound attention.
Battle said he lay in the front yard as the corpsman tried to alleviate some of the blood loss by applying a tourniquet to the wounded leg. In doing so, Battle felt a rush of pain and turned onto his side. At that moment, an insurgent dropped a grenade from the home's second-story window onto the men below.
"If I hadn't turned when I did, the grenade would have landed right on top of me," Battle said.
Instead, it exploded just inches away, causing shrapnel to pierce his skin and wounding the medics helping him.
That day of combat left Battle with each of his fingers fractured, shrapnel imbedded throughout most of his body and, because he couldn't bear to have the medics cut off his wedding ring, he has also lost his left ring finger.
"I wanted to keep it on. It meant too much to me," Battle said. "It was bent, so when they tried to take it off, it ripped off what was left of my finger."
He and his wife have been sweethearts since the eighth grade. The couple married in June, just weeks before he shipped out.
Battle's injuries have cost him and his family their dreams. After his enlistment was to be up, Battle said he was hoping to become a firefighter.
Once known for his running speed at Montclair High School, Battle said he may never walk again.
Though his dreams of serving his community as a firefighter may be over, he remains optimistic and simply redirects his thoughts toward a different career.
"Maybe I could be a football coach at Montclair (High School)," Battle said. "Five years from now, I could really see myself doing that."
For now, he said, he will concentrate and will himself to learn to walk once more.
"I know what I have sacrificed for my country," Battle said. "I would do it again."
Battle returns to his unit, which is based in Kanoi, Hawaii, in January.
Gretchen Losi may be reached at 951-6233 or gretchen_losi@link.freedom.com.
God bless our military and God bless U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Battle Jr!
The Few, The Brave.
There's a soldier.
God bless this brave and dedicated soldier, his family, and all who serve with him.
And how!
Amen
No, there's a Marine!
Battle returns to his unit in January...
Did I read that right? What are they going to use him for, a paperweight?
Don't flame me folks. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this young man, but for crying out loud, why wasn't he medical'd out the moment he got home?
That leaped out at me too. We better not put any underwear on their heads again.
Mr. Battle keep that attitude you are going to need it, you have a long road ahead of you... god bless...
Incorrect. Battle is a Marine, not a soldier.
Battle is a Marine, not a soldier.
ping
You don't get cashiered automatically as soon as you return to the States. He'll undergo additional treatment, physical therapy, and rehab before a medical board determines his fate re medical retirement.
Now is not exactly the time to quibble over pointless semantics, hm?
It's a rifle, not a gun, Gretchen. Watch Full Metal Jacket and Gunny Hartman will explain the difference.
Battle returns to his unit, which is based in Kanoi, Hawaii, in January.
That would be MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Gretchen.
We should have rained daisy cutters on their heads! I'm so damn pissed at those in charge of running a politically correct war. If Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were good enough to win WWII, then those tactics are good enough for the war against Islam.
AMEN!
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