Well done indeed.
Posted on 01/16/2006 1:05:54 PM PST by fanfan
EDMONTON - With part of his leg blown off, Master Cpl. Paul Franklin wrapped a tourniquet around his thigh, then went to help three other wounded passengers after a suicide bomber destroyed the military vehicle he was driving.
"He's a medic, so he had the wherewithal to do that," Audra Franklin said from her home in Edmonton, proudly describing her husband's heroic actions yesterday in Kandahar.
From her composure as she sat watching replays of the footage on TV, it was hard to tell her husband had just lost his lower left leg and had his right leg shattered.
"I want to make sure that the face of the Canadian military family is one of a strong person, who can deal with this," she said.
At 6 a.m., she received the phone call from military officials, who said her 38-year-old husband, a member of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, had been badly injured.
She was told a car packed with explosives had slammed into the rear driver's side of the armoured personnel carrier her husband was driving.
Glyn Berry, a Foreign Affairs employee, who sat behind Master Corporal Franklin was killed. Private William Salikin, 22, of Grand Forks, B.C., and Corporal Jeffrey Bailey, 26, of Edmonton suffered life-threatening injures and were in critical condition. At least three Afghan civilians were also killed and another 10 were injured.
Following the initial shock, Ms. Franklin said she was happy just to know her husband was alive.
"It sounded like he was in a lot of pain -- he was fading out a lot," she said about the phone conversation she had with him yesterday morning after he came out of surgery. "But the more I talk about his injuries, the more I say it's not too bad in the big scheme of things. It's not that bad. We can overcome this."
Ms. Franklin said her husband, a marathon runner, was even able to crack jokes about the situation.
"He calls himself Stumpy McGillicuddy," she said. "We have this continuing argument: I want to get a new car, I don't want to drive a standard anymore. Paul still wants to drive standard. So I said to him, 'Paul, I win, because you can't drive a standard anymore.' "
From her Grand Forks, B.C., home yesterday, Pte. Salikin's mother said she knew her son's medical condition but was unwilling to discuss it.
"I've got a prayer chain going all over my entire city, not only for my son but for all the other people," she said. "If there's any information to be given out, I have been asked to let you go through [military] sources."
John Zibin, owner of The Source electronics store in Grand Forks, could only say good things about Pte. Salikin, who worked for him for about a year after finishing high school.
"He's just a really, really, honest, down-to-earth, just a very caring kid," Mr. Zibin said.
"His dreams were to go into military. He wanted to go into the military and continue his education and take basic training and work his way up."
Pte. Salikin, he said, is very skilled with computers and was a conscientious and kind employee who always dropped in to say hello when he was in town.
"I can't say anything bad about Will because he was really a dedicated, honest kid. I'd have him back in an instant."
Mr. Zibin said he's doing what everyone else in Grand Forks is doing -- hoping for the best.
"I was just devastated when I heard," he said. "He's just a hell of a kid."
Pte. Salikin's girlfriend, Desirae Hansen, 20, wrote in a blog yesterday: "As you all might know by now, William Salikin, my love has been injured ... critically injured. There is no other details, but all I ask is for you all to pray, please pray every chance you get, and wish him a safe trip home when he's more stable. That's all I can say right now. Please pray."
Amazing!
Well Done!
Thank you, Sir!
Prayers up! :-)
Canada Ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Ping
Only a few more days and counting and you guys will have new political leadership!
And your allies "South of the Border", can't wait!
Now THERE'S a war hero. Somebody ping Sen. Rice-in-the-ass.
Well Done!
Master Cpl. Paul Franklin.
BTTT
I hope they all make it home okay, and soon.
When I go to my annual CPR/Bandage wrapping class I always ask the instructor, "Mame, What would you do in case of a traumatic amputation of a leg or an arm? Use a compression Bandage?
Heartfelt prayers for a hero, Master Cpl. Paul Franklin. God bless him!
BTTT for another 'never known' hero...Bless him and his..
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This is big news here in the West Kootenays, home of Pte. Salikin.
There's a little irony in that Salikin is a Doukhobor surname - he's a descendent of the Russian pacifist sectarians who moved to this area 100 years ago to escape czarist conscription.
Prayer being sent up now. Thank you for a job well done.
All my joking about PPLI on other posts aside.
The Queen needs to give this man a medal, for two reasons.
#1 He deserves it for selfless actions aiding his fellow troops.
#2 To remind the Canadian public that the commonwealth still stands.
May god speed his recovery
What an incredible woman!! Thank you, Canada!!
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