If he finds himself at the TMC, hopefully for no more than aspirin or something, tell him to ask if any of the medics are Okies.
Medic earns combat badge
Monday, January 10, 2005
JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
Neither bullets nor fear had time to hit a Saginaw native as his armored vehicle came under fire in the streets of Mosul, Iraq.
Spc. Michael Wachowicz, a U.S. Army medic, received the Combat Medical Badge this month for weathering an attack in which small-arms fire peppered his Stryker vehicle.
Wachowicz, 23, said the attack left little time for panic.
"You are so hyped up and caught up in the moment that all you can think of is getting out of there," Wachowicz told his wife. "It's a life-or-death situation."
Wachowicz's unit returned to camp intact.
The Arthur Hill High School graduate joined fellow medics in the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division in receiving the Combat Medical Badge -- an award given to medical personnel involved in ground combat while serving with the infantry.
Wachowicz joined the Army in October 2002 to pursue a medical career. He hopes to become an operating room technician.
Today, he is serving a one-year tour in Iraq as a medic. His wife and three young children are stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash.
"We're thankful every time we hear from him," said his wife and high school sweetheart, Natalie Wachowicz, 22.
In the weeks after her husband's deployment to Iraq in October, Wachowicz recalled scouring television news around the clock, looking for any indication about how her soldier had fared in the insurgent-fraught city of Mosul.
She admittedly watches less television these days, but still perks an ear when Mosul is mentioned.
More than anything, Wachowicz fears another attack like the mess hall bombing that killed 14 U.S. soldiers and three American contractors outside Mosul in late December. Her husband had dined at that hall just days before.
"He always bragged that he never missed a meal," Wachowicz said.
Wachowicz said her husband continues to send electronic messages two or three times a week. She said he remains upbeat, even after the attack on his vehicle.