Battling back

* Marine draws on inner strength and support of family and friends to recover from injuries suffered in Iraq.

By Jennifer Johnson

Herald-Tribune

Nevada, Mo. -- As he approaches, dressed in jeans, with a black leather coat draped over his shoulders, the casual viewer might catch a glimpse of Trey O'Connell's casted arm be-neath his coat.

O'Connell, 21, returned home this week to where he grew up to visit family and friends during his short leave from Brooks Army Hospital, in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Two months earlier, O'Connell beat the odds and survived an explosion of his military Humvee which occurred outside of Fallujah in Iraq on Oct 23, 2006. The explosive device was detonated when the military vehicle O'Connell was riding in passed over the top of it. With the point of contact being directly underneath O'Connell's position in the vehicle, his injuries were considered life threatening. Nevertheless, his appearance and attitude today regarding the event are remarkably encouraging.

O'Connell, who was serving his second deployment in Iraq after volunteering to return in June of 2006, was a Lance Corporal in the 3rd Battalian-24th Marine Division at the time of the explosion.

His injuries were extensive, and he was transported to the nearest medical facility, which was located in Baghdad.

He remained in Baghdad for two to three days -- doctors wanted to stabilize his condition, just enough that he could be transported to a military hospital in Germany. From there, he made his way to the Brooks Medical Hospital in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he underwent several surgical procedures and skin graftings over the course of a month in the burn unit of the facility.

O'Connell enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Nevada High School in 2003, and stated that, "I just wanted to get out there and do what was right to protect our country." In doing so, he served his first deployment, Jan. 5 - Oct 15, 2004.

In staying active with the Reserves between his deployments, he worked as a general manager of the Dollar General Store in Fayetteville, Ark.

O'Connell said that he "volunteered for re-deployment" to continue serving the country, as he stated that, "Good things are happening over there -- it's just that the American public doesn't always get to see it happening."

When he left for Iraq on June 1, 2006, he was unaware that he would find himself in the thick of turmoil in one of the deadliest months for the military stationed in Iraq since the beginning of the war.

O'Connell said that during the first half of his second deployment to Iraq, "the situation there seemed to be similar to when I had left, not any worse."

However, as October began, things gradually began getting "more tense" for the military.

It took O'Connell a couple of weeks after being transported back to the United States to began regaining memory of what had happened the day he was injured. He recalls regaining consciousness a few times between his transports back to the states and thought to himself that he was "dying. When I did wake, I just knew I was hurt bad, and didn't know if I was going to live."

While in the German medical hospital, he spoke of how he was able to here his parents' voices over the phone with the assistance of a doctor there, he added, "It was at that very point that I made a decision that I wanted to hang on and make it home."

As his recollection of the incident became clearer to him, he was able to explain more to family what had happened that day.

"It took me a while before I was able to really talk about it to anyone, even after I began remembering. The first person I spoke with about it was my dad." said O'Connell.

His memory of the day of the incident is still somewhat blurry, but the convoy of eight Humvees he was traveling with was out on patrol outside of Fallujah, O'Connell's vehicle was the first one leading up the convoy.

"All I really remember," said O'Connell, "is waking up and having my arm stuck in the vehicle while it was on fire, and it was rolling and dragging me, then I blacked out and woke up for the first time in Germany. From what I was told, there was someone, who has not yet been identified, who was nearby that remote-control detonated the IED that we drove over."

O'Connell adds that the Humvee that they were riding in burned to the ground "within a matter of minutes, so I don't know exactly how long I was dragged, but that is how I sustained such serious damage to my arm."

O'Connell suffered burns over 25 percent of his body, and an open ended fracture to his right arm.

He has finished many of his skin grafting surgeries, and multiple surgeries to reconstruct his arm, which is being held together with pins.

O'Connell adds that he still doesn't know whether or not he will be able to use his arm to the extent that he was able to prior to the incident.

When O'Connell goes back to the Brooks Medical Hospital, he will still have to undergo 8 months to a year of physical therapy before being officially released.

His future plans are undecided; however, O'Connell spoke adamantly about the job that the military is doing over in Iraq.

"I volunteered to go back the second time," said O'Connell. "That says something about my beliefs in what we are accomplishing over there. Good things are being done, it's just too bad not everybody realizes that."