Photo By Sgt. Cuong Le | Marcus Chischilly practices his running during the 2015 Marine Corps Trials. The...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Drenched in sweat and cooking under the blazing sun, Marine Corps Cpl. Marcus Chischilly, also known as “Chilly” by his coaches and friends, performed a series of warm up exercises as he perfected his running style at Paige Fieldhouse. Chilly is one of the hundreds of active duty, veterans, and allied competitors in this year’s Marine Corps Trials, which is hosted at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton March 3-11.
When given the command to run from one point to the next, Chilly screamed at the top of his lungs as he sprinted across the field – even though he’s missing a leg.
“It was my second enlistment here at Camp Pendleton when we deployed to Afghanistan,” said Chilly. “I got there in September, 2010 and I was there for about a month before I got hit by an IED so I lost my left leg on Oct. 9, 2010.”
After his injury, Chilly spent two years recovering at Naval Medical Center in Balboa. During his time there, Chilly said he made it a point to go out of his way to help and inspire the other veterans around him, despite his own need for recovery.
“The first time I met him, he was just all over the place,” said Retired Cpl. Jorge Salazar. “He is so energetic and he’s always pushing hard, even if he is tired, he will still push hard. You’ll never know he’s tired cause he will never tell you.”
And when it comes to helping others, there isn’t much that Chilly won’t do.
“Whenever we need something he will be the first one to volunteer,” said Salazar.
“When we were giving out awards, he would make the plaques - he makes everything for us, even all the administrative stuff ”
“Everything from helping me improve my game all the way to looking after my family, he even helped watch my kids when they come over to play with his kids. He is always there to help.”
Chilly soon found himself at the Marine Corps Trials after recommendation from his friends.
According to Marcus he wanted to use the competition as a stepping-stone to getting to the Warrior Games, so that he would get the chance to compete with all of the other services.
“He always shows up to everything with a positive attitude and strives for excellence in everything that he does,” said Jeff Mcauley, head coach for track and field. “He passes (his positive attitude) on to other people in the group and everybody loves him."
This year is Chilly’s third time competing in the trials, and 2013 was his first time competing in the Warrior Games. His hope is to make another appearance at the Warrior Games this year.
“First and foremost, we are Marines. No one can take that away from us,” said Chilly. “But, when you are physically, emotionally and mentally tainted by an injury, illness or a wound, you kind of lose what that means to yourself. But when you come here you really get to see and engage in all of the activities that make you feel like a Marine again.”
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2015 18:26 |
| Story ID: | 156378 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 249 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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