Suicide bomb attack came as unpleasant surprise FdL Marine hopes to regain use of leg, hand

The Reporter ^ | Apr. 29, 2003 | By Laurie Ritger

[miltonim]

Suicide bomb attack came as unpleasant surprise

FdL Marine hopes to regain use of leg, hand

A Fond du Lac native injured by shrapnel in a suicide bombing near Baghdad will spend several weeks recuperating locally with his family.

Cpl. Brian Wilcox, 23, who is with the First Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is hoping he’ll regain the use of his right leg and hand, which were among areas sprayed with bits of shrapnel when the suicide bomber’s device exploded. Wilcox is exercising his limbs while regaining his strength with rest and steady meals.

“The (Iraqi) civilians were too social,” Wilcox said, thinking back to the moments before a suicide bomber changed his life April 11. “(But) the higher-ups (within the military) didn’t seem too worried. At the same time, they (Iraqis) were helping us.”

Wilcox and fellow Marines were moving 100-pound sandbags to a new location shortly before the bombing.

“Some guy ran up and blew himself up — a suicide bomber,” Wilcox said, thinking back to the shocking event in the midst of a seemingly routine exercise.

Among the casualties was a unit doctor who was hit in the arm and eye. The last Wilcox heard, the doctor was only seeing shadows because of damage to his eye.

Another Marine who was next to Wilcox sustained serious injuries involving multiple surgeries.

Another lost a couple teeth and sustained injuries to his face and body.

“I remember being pushed about three feet and I’m on the ground,” Wilcox said of the incident. “I opened my eyes and I checked my limbs. I’m seeing my limbs are there. Everything was numb at first.”

Wilcox initially thought a bunker was booby-trapped or that they had just come under enemy fire.

“I’m kind of in a daze,” he continued. “I knew I’m blown up. I remember the blood on my cammies (camouflage). That’s the biggest thing I remember.”

Nearly in shock, Wilcox was told to stay calm.

He was taken to a battalion aid station, then to a hospital in Kuwait. Next he was flown to Germany and eventually to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

Wilcox has had two surgeries to clear shrapnel from his elbow and knee joints. Some of the fragments are working to the surface of his arms and legs and he’s been removing them himself.

One tiny piece appeared to have the teeth of a gear, and it was molded to a short hollow bolt with a threaded interior.

Wilcox said he believes he would have been killed if the suicide bomber had used a grenade.

Wilcox took a commercial flight home, returning Thursday with his wife and parents. His parents were flown to Maryland courtesy of Mercury Marine, his father, Chester’s, employer.

“We really appreciated it,” Chester said. “It wasn’t a planned vacation and it helped out a lot.”

Wilcox’ wife, Lorri, said she was preparing for the worst after hearing that Brian had been wounded.

“He was actually a lot better than I thought he’d be,” she said of the day she first saw him in Maryland. “Now, he’s a lot better.”

After a few uncertain moments, their daughter, Alyssa, 1, has gone back to being “Daddy’s girl,” Lorri said.

Wilcox also is reuniting with his 6-year-old daughter, Autumn, who attends school in Fond du Lac.

Wilcox said he lost more than 20 pounds while serving two months in Iraq. The past few days, he’s been taking in some of his favorites: Mandarin Garden, “Big Pappa” burgers at A & W (three pieces of meat), Salty’s Restaurant and Shake ’n Bake chicken.

He intends to stay several more weeks in Fond du Lac during his 30-day medical leave.

If he is discharged due to his injuries, he may return to school for a career in computer programming.

While hospitalized at Bethesda, Wilcox received a Purple Heart, noting his war wound.

He is not the first in his family to receive the special award. His father, Chester, received two Purple Hearts for his service in the Army during Vietnam.

[mlmr]

Suicide bomb attack came as unpleasant surprise

I cannot think of a suidice bombing that would be pleasant.

Nor, come to think of it, one that would not be a surprise.