BACK IN THE U.S., MARINES OVERCOME WOUNDS OF WAR SPIRIT OF CORPS WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT ADMIRAL'S CUP.Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer In 2004, Staff Sgt. John Szczepanowski was assigned as a liaison to wounded Marines at the National Naval Medical Center The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, also known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, is considered the flagship of the United States Navy's system of medical centers. and Walter Reed Army Medical Center Walter Reed Army Medical Center, major hospital complex in Washington, D. C., and Forest Glen, Md.; est. 1923 and named for U.S. army surgeon Walter Reed. It is composed of seven units including a general hospital and a research institute. There are several thousand beds. , helping men who came home from Iraq and Afghanistan with shattered bodies begin their lives again. A marathon runner and fitness nut, he knew the power of exercise to help bodies and minds rebuild themselves. Working with a dozen seriously wounded A casualty whose injuries or illness are of such severity that the patient is rendered unable to walk or sit, thereby requiring a litter for movement and evacuation. See also evacuation; litter; patient. comrades, he formed a team earlier this year and took the name of the Corps' famous motto. They've spent the past few months running long distances, biking hundreds of miles and pushing themselves to the limits of their physical capacity. On Saturday, a squad of five will compete alongside dozens of able-bodied athletes in the Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local Ventura County Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup is a yachting race series in England. It was started in 1957 and is normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbered years). However, the event was not staged in 2001 or 2005. triathlon. After a 400-meter swim, they'll switch prosthetic pros·thet·ic adj. 1. Serving as or relating to a prosthesis. 2. Of or relating to prosthetics. prosthetic serving as a substitute; pertaining to prostheses or to prosthetics. limbs and complete a nine-mile bike ride, then a three-mile run. "These guys are living proof -- they remind me every day why I became a Marine," Szczepanowski said. "They remind me why it's good to be an American -- and it's better to be a Marine." Sgt. Bacillio "Goo" Santellana, 23, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, Weapons Company Santellana sat in the commander's seat of the Humvee, scanning the Fallujah road for insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. and roadside bombs. Just a few years before, he was working in a San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. warehouse, bored. Now, in fall 2004, his patrol was escorting some lumbering bulldozers and he was on edge. The truck crept forward when the driver noticed a suspicious package to the side. Santellana eyed it and saw two 115 mm shells wired together in an L. He swore and ordered the man next to him to step on the gas. It surged forward, the shells exploded and the windows shattered. He blanked out, came to and saw the door caved in on him. Flames licked around the truck's wrecked frame and Santellana could hear rounds crackling through the air. His gunner, wounded in the face and arm, gushed blood. "Oh, my God, am I dead?" he thought. "I feel my body parts. ... OK, I'm not dead." He stumbled out and fell to the ground. His driver dragged him to safety and they got the hell out of there. Back at the hospital, he saw a big hole in his right foot where his toes used to be. Santellana spent a year learning to walk again with half a foot. He yearned to run again, to play with the kids he and his wife wanted to raise. In March 2006, he asked doctors to amputate am·pu·tate v. To cut off a part of the body, especially by surgery. his leg below the knee and fit him with a Re-Flex VSP VSP - Very Simple Prolog+. prosthesis prosthesis (prŏs`thĭsĭs): see artificial limb. prosthesis Artificial substitute for a missing part of the body, usually an arm or leg. . Now, he runs three times a week, swims and can ride a stationary bike Stationary Bike is a short story written by Stephen King, which was originally published in the fifth edition of From the Borderlands in 2003. The story depicts the struggle of Richard Sifkitz — a commercial artist and widower — to suppress a passion for for up to two hours. Coming up on his fifth year in the Corps, he's studying computer science and bought a house back home in San Antonio. He plans to retire in a few months to settle down. Life without his calf doesn't seem so different. "You used to put on your shoe, now you put on your leg," he said. "It saves you money. You only gotta wear one sock. And you don't have to cut your toenails anymore." Sgt. Jose "Joe" Gonzales, 23, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, weapons company Gonzales had already been blown up twice by June 2005 when he saw the suspicious van hurtling toward his convoy. They were escorting some Marines in seven-ton trucks in the Hit corridor in Iraq and he was driving a Humvee. Just two weeks before, an improvised explosive device Noun 1. improvised explosive device - an explosive device that is improvised I.E.D., IED explosive device - device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy fired off next to his vehicle and seriously injured his back. It was his first day returning to duty and the van was getting dangerously close. "I'm gassing it, but the vehicle's not going anywhere," Gonzales said. "We're trying evasive maneuvers, trying to cut him off." He swerved off the road, thinking the van couldn't follow. It detonated. His Humvee was on fire and smashed in. The blast ejected several guys from the vehicle and his back was killing him, but no one was seriously hurt. "Five Marines were saved," he said. "This is why God put me in the Marine Corps." He stayed in Iraq and finished out his tour before coming home to recover from his injury. He works a staff job at Brooke Army Medical Center Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio is part of the United States Army Health Services Command. It is a University of Texas Health Science Center and USUHS teaching hospital and contains the Army Burn Center. in Texas, not far from his hometown of Uvalde. It's not easy to run 10 miles with his back aching, or to pedal 55 miles, hunched over a bike's handlebars, but it keeps his mind off the post-combat stress. When his tour's up next June, he hopes to return to Iraq. "You hear all the negative things on the news," he said. "You don't hear that we opened a school. You don't hear we opened a dam to provide electricity. That's why we're there." Cpl. Dan "The Man" Lasko, retired, 24, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. Lasko took his oath on the morning of 9-11, left the ceremony and saw the World Trade Center explode on television. Three years later, he wound up in Afghanistan. In April, he ended up in the mountains, smoking out Taliban fighters. His unit got word an ambush was coming, but the intel was sketchy as to when. On April 24, one month into a seven-month tour, it hit. As he rode in a seven-ton truck, an IED Noun 1. IED - an explosive device that is improvised I.E.D., improvised explosive device explosive device - device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy blast blew off the bottom of his left foot. "I couldn't get up, I couldn't see anything," he said. "When I looked down, I saw my toes sticking up through my boot. My adrenaline started going because I knew we were being attacked." Navy medics cleaned out the wound back at base, then he shipped out to Landstuhl, Germany, where surgeons removed his foot. When he returned stateside state·side adj. 1. Of or in the continental United States. 2. Alaska Of or in the 48 contiguous states of the United States. adv. Informal 1. to Bethesda, he got an infection and doctors reamputated, just below his knee. He was angry at first, then came to terms with his wound. Seven surgeries, five prosthetics and a solid year of therapy later, he was running again. Back home in Easton, Pa., he's studying criminal justice and works as an adult probation officer probation officer n. 1. An official usually attached to a juvenile court and charged with the care of juvenile delinquents. 2. An official charged with supervising convicts at large on suspended sentence or probation. . He works out at least three hours a day, five days a week, and doesn't really notice that a metal foot now fills his sneaker. "I knew I wasn't going to be stuck in a bed or a wheelchair," he said. "Life has just begun, I'll tell you that." Gunnery Sgt. Spanky Gibson, 36, 2nd Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Co. Gunny Gibson had been around plenty before that crazy day in Ramadi. He'd joined up at 18 years old and spent just as many in the Corps, serving in Operation Desert Storm Noun 1. Operation Desert Storm - the United States and its allies defeated Iraq in a ground war that lasted 100 hours (1991) Gulf War, Persian Gulf War - a war fought between Iraq and a coalition led by the United States that freed Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; and Somalia before he headed back to Iraq. "Our reputation precedes us," he said. "Any time you hear Marine, especially with U.S. in front of it, people don't want to fight with you." He was leading a four-man team in the eastern part of the city, coordinating precision strikes in support of an Iraqi unit, when a buddy went down with a sniper shot. Gibson ordered his team to form a human wall around the wounded comrade and laid down suppressing fire. He heard a shot, felt a tingle in his left knee and found himself face down on the ground, his foot bent upward, pinning his rifle to his chest. He was furious. "I got my weapon out and went to town," he said. "I kept shooting. A SEAL corpsman corps·man n. 1. An enlisted person in the U.S. Navy or Marines who has been trained to give first aid and basic medical treatment, especially in combat situations. 2. and a teammate dragged me 30 yards and I was firing the whole way." When he lost his leg above the knee, he reasoned that he'd just have to start over and learn to move again. The amputation amputation (ăm'pyətā`shən), removal of all or part of a limb or other body part. Although amputation has been practiced for centuries, the development of sophisticated techniques for treatment and prevention of infection has greatly took away his cherished Marine Jack of All Trades tattoo on his ankle, so he had the Corps logo worked into his $70,000 prosthesis. He became the coach and competitor with Team Semper Fi to show his comrades that a serious wound didn't mean life was over. "I'm not as quick as I used to be. Yet," he said. "I don't expect to be 100 percent. But I'm gonna be damn close." brent.hopkins@dailynews.com (818) 713-3738 If you go The Admiral's Cup Triathlon is at 8 a.m. Saturday at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu main gate. The event is free. For more information about Team Semper Fi, visit www.teamsemperfi.org or semperfifund.org. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) Members of Team Semper Fi relax Thursday at Naval Base Ventura County. From left are: Sgt. Jose Gonzales, Sgt. Bacillio Santellana, Cpl. Dan Lasko and Gunnery Sgt. Spanky Gibson. (2) Sgt. Gibson takes off on a practice run. When his leg was amputated, he lost his prized Marine Jack of All Trades tattoo on his ankle. Undaunted, he had the Marine Corps logo applied to his $70,000 prosthesis. (3) Sgt. Santellana provides a view of his artificial foot. He runs three times per week, swims and can ride a stationary bike for up to two hours. Michael Owen
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