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By April Peterson
OKINAWA, Japan - Sgt. Courtney Rauch was born into a Navy family and saw Marines as a child during visits to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. He remembers feeling proud and inspired by the way Marines carried themselves and the history surrounding their military service.
After high school in July 2005, Rauch joined the Marine Corps, completed boot camp and was assigned as an infantryman. He was immediately sent to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he began workups for his first deployment. Rauch said he was proud he would follow in the steps of other great infantryman.
"You know you are in a good organization when you want nothing more than to be a Marine," he said.
Rauch deployed on his first combat tour to Ramadi, Iraq, in September 2006. He deployed to Garmsir, Afghanistan, for his second combat tour in March 2008.
Although he had combat experience from his first deployment, the battlefields had changed. Rauch said his unit experienced heavy improvised explosive devices attacks, short firefights and mostly urban combat in Ramadi.
Afghanistan was very different, he said.
When deployed to Garmsir, the Marines patrolled poppy fields, canals, and narrow roads. The firefights were longer and sustained and the IEDs were more difficult to detect.
On Aug. 3, 2008, while on a mounted routine patrol, an IED detonated, striking Rauch’s truck.
Rauch was knocked unconscious and remembers very little of the event.
From field reports, Rauch knows the unit’s corpsman performed first aid on site; he was medically evacuated to Camp Bastian in Helmand province, and then quickly transferred to Landstuhl, Germany.
Rauch’s left leg was amputated. He had shrapnel injures to his right leg and his right foot was shattered.
Additionally, he had a major concussion.
After a few days in Germany, Rauch was transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
There he spent the first few months adjusting to his new condition.
Despite his multiple injuries, he said he never doubted he would return to his infantry unit.
Rauch transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. There, he received his prosthesis and started the journey toward regaining mobility.
Getting back into sports and accomplishing activities he did before his injury was a large confidence booster, he said.
"Prior to my injury, I took my Marine Corps physical fitness seriously - my physical fitness test score was important, and I trained to become an instructor with the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. After my injury, I was motivated to obtain the same level of fitness."
Rauch played football in high school and snowboarded whenever possible. Today, little has changed.
Rauch recently returned from a snowboarding trip to Aspen, Colo., and he continues to train with MCMAP.
He said he enjoys motivating and inspiring other service members and spends a couple of days a week working with injured soldiers and Marines at Walter Reed.
Rauch said he is motivated to return to full active duty and to his infantry unit with no medical restrictions.
This is a tough feat, but one he said he is determined to accomplish.
"If you want to do something; don’t let others tell you that you can’t - stand up and prove them wrong - you make the decisions for your life."
Rauch is slowly getting back to normal Marine activities.
He has left in-patient status at Walter Reed and asked to "get back to a unit, where I can do some good."
Rauch is currently stationed at the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. He plans to spend a few more years recovering and getting back into shape before returning to an infantry unit.
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.10.2010 06:37 |
| Story ID: | 59804 |
| Location: | OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 543 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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