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Posted on 08/25/2003 2:18:24 PM PDT by pittsburgh gop guy
Hometown pride: Fayette County honors soldiers wounded in Iraq
Monday, August 25, 2003
By Carmen J. Lee, Post-Gazette Education Writer
It wasn't the medals on former Army Pfc. Sam Ross' uniform that reflected his courage yesterday or the words of praise from those who cheered him during a hometown parade.
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After accidentally dropping the flag, Angie Graziano reacts to comments from spectators while escorting former Army Pfc. Sam Ross in a homecoming parade yesterday in Dunbar. (Doreena Balesteire, Post-Gazette) Click photo for larger image. |
It was the Dunbar native's poise as he greeted well-wishers or insisted on sharing attention with fellow soldiers that proved the grit he'll need to recover from extensive injuries he suffered in Iraq.
He even took time to announce the day's schedule of festivities that culminated with a celebration at the Fayette County Fairgrounds so that no one would miss out.
"The war's not over," Ross, 21, told the crowd that gathered for the ceremony at the Dunbar Honor Roll Veterans Memorial. "People every day are getting shot and injured. ... Let's keep up the prayers and memories of the guys still over there. Let's stay strong for them and hope they have a safe return."
The ceremony and fairgrounds celebration were in honor of Ross and other local service people, including Army Sgt. David Calhoun, 37, also of Dunbar. Calhoun suffered injuries in his arm, side and leg in Iraq. Proceeds from the fund-raising activities that included a dunking pool and auction were to be divided between Ross and Calhoun.
But as much as Ross tried to deflect attention from himself, there was no mistaking that many of the several hundred flag-waving people who lined the streets of the Fayette County community were there to root for him.
An Army paratrooper and combat engineer with the 82nd Airborne Division, Ross was gravely injured May 18 in Baghdad when a bomblet blew up in front of him while he and other soldiers were working to disarm and dispose of it.
He lost his eyesight in the blast and the hearing in one ear. His left leg was so severely injured that doctors had to amputate it. Shrapnel tore a fist-sized wound in his right leg and other wounds all over his body. His skull was fractured and his sinuses smashed.
Doctors initially did not expect Ross to live. But after 14 surgeries and two months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Ross was able to return home last month to Fayette County, where he is recuperating.
But as he stood under sunny skies yesterday, shaking hands and posing for pictures in his green uniform and burgundy beret, Ross was upbeat as well as grateful for the support from his family and community.
"I didn't think it was going to be this big," Ross said of the parade at one point. "This town is great. It's been everything I expected and more. It's been wonderful."
When he got out of the jeep that he rode in near the front of the parade, Ross said, "I'm just going to stand here and watch the parade -- well, I'm going to listen to it," he amended with a smile.
Then, as some of the other servicemen applauded him, he added, "Hey, thanks guys. I can't see you, but I know you're around."
His aunt, Tina Pifer, who was the parade marshal and a co-organizer, said one of the family's hopes is that an upcoming operation to reattach his retinas will restore sight to at least one of his eyes. But she added that whatever the outcome, Ross was determined to rebuild his life.
"He's got great ambition, great drive," she said.
Larry Goretsky of Dunbar, whose son Jason, 20, played Little League baseball with Ross and also joined the Army, gave a similar description as he waited for the parade yesterday.
"Sam has a lot of heart. He did what he wanted to do. ... We're all proud of him," Goretsky said. "Sam was a wrestler in high school. If you know anything about wrestlers, they go through a lot. That will help him with his rehabilitation."
Yesterday's festivities featured bagpipers, Civil War re-enactors and a number of veterans as well as local residents and the Connellsville Area Senior High School Marching Band.
John Spisso, civilian aide to the U.S. Secretary of the Army for Western Pennsylvania, was a co-organizer of the event, and during his speech, he commended Ross and Calhoun for their service.
Also participating in the ceremony was Staff Sgt. Cole Staats, of Ravenswood, W.Va., who was Ross' squad leader and the first to administer aid to him by applying a tourniquet to his leg.
"He was an angel in the desert for us," Pifer told the crowd after Staats made a few remarks. "He saved Sammy for us."
Staats, 29, who said Ross was like a younger brother to him, was quick to explain after the ceremony that several other soldiers also worked feverishly to keep Ross alive after the blast.
"To be called an angel, I don't know. ... It's a title I don't think I deserve. I was just doing my job, that's all," he said.
Then as he watched Ross smile and shake hands with people after the ceremony, Staats added that he was heartened by the progress his friend had made in three months.
"It's a blessing to see him now," he said.
"I didn't think it was going to be this big," Ross said of the parade at one point. "This town is great. It's been everything I expected and more. It's been wonderful."
Wounded and grateful hero, ping!
If you want on or off of my pro-Coalition/anti-wanker ping list, jsut ping.
God Bless the Troops
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