Photo By Douglas Stutz | Purple Heart Reflection…Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Richard Vaughn, currently...... read more read more
America’s oldest military award, distinctive in its rarity, has been annually recognized since 1782.
On August 7, Purple Heart Recognition Day has significant meaning to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton with more than a few staff members receiving the medal in the line of duty.
Some of the Purple Heart recipients who were acknowledged for their valor when battered and bruised, but not beaten, include the following trio:
At Al Fallujah, Iraq in December, 2004, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Richard Vaughn was concentrating on an insurgent prisoner and about to become a Purple Heart recipient.
Assigned to 1st Marine Division, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine with Kilo Company, 2nd Platoon, 3rd Squadron, Vaughn, then a hospitalman, was involved in Operation Phantom Fury, a two month battle fought in the ravaged cityscape against a determined enemy.
Vaughn and a Marine from his squad were each escorting an insurgent from a dwelling across a courtyard when a sudden explosion brought a sudden rush of searing shrapnel, concussive noise and hot air filled with swirling debris.
“The whole place just seemed to blow up. I didn’t know what it was and, to this day, still don’t know what caused that blast. A hidden projectile? An improvised explosive device? An RPG?” related said Vaughn, currently assigned to the Mental Health Department as a Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program (SARP) counselor. “All I know is that at that time I had a hold of the insurgent in my right hand and was carrying my medical kit and weapon in my left. We were propelled forward. I didn’t let go of either the insurgent or my gear.”
Vaughn’s immediate attention centered on his Marine who sustained an injury to his leg from the blast that tore into his pants and severely injured the limb. There was still the responsibility to deliver the insurgents to their designated staging area.
“We got out of the courtyard, around the corner, and dropped off the prisoners. I then cleaned up the leg injury of my Marine and got him off to a Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon. We weren’t too far from that unit,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn then finally took a moment to examine himself.
“When the explosion went off, it felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my left shoulder. There was numbness in my arm. I remember I could feel blood seeping down inside my uniform top. My Marines were on the radio all saying, ‘Doc Vaughn has been hit!’ But after I looked at myself, I thought it really wasn’t that bad. It really could have been a lot worse. To this day I have a hard time telling this, but it really was amazing that it wasn’t worse. I chalked it up to prayer that there was no gaping wound. Several weeks after I was asked about the injury and I said it was really nothing,” said Vaughn.
Upon returning to Camp Pendleton from deployment, Vaughn’s chain of command took exception to his own assessment. He was presented with the Purple Heart.
“Everyone was wounded to some degree in Fallujah, physically as well as mentally and emotionally. We lost a lot of Marines and the wounded were too many to count. I don’t think what I did was anything special. I was just doing what I had to do,” stated Vaughn.
His time spent in Al Fallujah had Vaughn also engaged in running firefights lasting three to four hours as his Marines were confronting a host of insurgents operating from rudimentary – but effective – tunnels and underground bunkers.
“We fought those guys. Our Marines were right there in those battles and it was rough. If I focus, I can still remember little details like sounds and smells and sights. When you spend seven months wondering if each new day might be your last, your attention to detail can be amazing,” Vaughn shared, adding that as harrowing as it was, there was a special affinity he felt for those he cared for as their ‘doc.’
Vaughn does get queried at times about his Purple Heart. His response is typically just one word that needs little elaboration.
“I usually just say ‘Fallujah,’ and that seems to be enough,” stated Vaughn. “There were a lot of Purple Hearts where I came from with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine. Being included with them…I am humbled and honored to wear it.”
For Hospital Corpsman First Class Danrung Vanichkul, he was down to seven days and a wake-up remaining in his year-long 2008 Individual Augmentee deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when his immediate surroundings – as well as everything else - was completely blown apart.
His squad had followed intelligence reports of a concentration of Taliban insurgents gathered at a remote village.
“It was our job to head out to the area and clear them out of there,” said Vanichkul.
An ensuing firefight broke out that lasted more than three hours.
“We were fighting and they took off. We pursued them. It was during our chase that they got lucky.”
A concealed land mine placed by the retreating Taliban was stepped on by a squad member. The ensuing blast severely injured the Soldier and flung shrapnel into Vanichkul and lifted him meters off the ground.
“The guy was right beside me when the mine went off,” explained Vanichkul. “I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, my first concern was automatically for my personnel.”
Vanichkul’s subsequent actions on the battlefield were the result of his prior training and continuous knowledge gained from already being part of approximately 200 combat operations before that day when attached to US Army Regional Police Advisory Command, Afghanistan Regional Security Integration Command (ARSIC) South.
“I don’t remember how long I was knocked out but it wasn’t long,” said the Bangkok, Thailand native. “I do remember immediately wondering if everyone else was alright. When we are in a situation with actual wounded, that’s when all the drills and training we do takes over our actions. There was no time to think or react, just to do what we do as a hospital corpsman.”
“I’ve never had such an honor of presenting a medal of this magnitude. I’m just speechless and so proud,” said Captain Mark Brouker, then Naval Hospital Bremerton commanding officer.
“We just don’t think about ourselves in such a situation,” Vanichkul remarked. “I guess it’s the right medal for wrong timing. But I don’t really deserve it.”
Four years later in 2012 in the same province of southern Afghanistan, that harsh, unforgiving landscape came crashing into Hospital Corpsman First Class Edwardbrice Sablan.
Sablan was riding in a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle as part of an escort patrol in the war-torn Marjah region when a sudden blast tore into the undercarriage.
An estimated 200-pound improvised explosive device was detonated into the MRAP carrying members of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
Sablan, sitting directly behind the auxiliary driver, was knocked momentarily unconscious by the force of the explosion. When he came to amidst the aftermath of swirling smoke, choking dust and minimal visibility, his thoughts immediately went to the others.
“My concern was for my Marines. I was worried about everyone else. We all got knocked out, including the driver, gunner and other passengers. I instantly started assessing the others,” said Sablan.
Everyone had cuts, minor lacerations, and bruises from debris and shrapnel, except the auxiliary driver. The explosion had severely injured his lower torso.
“I had to get him out right away. I pulled him out and stabilized his wounds as much as possible. We had set up a defensive posture, - there were potshots coming at us - and I protected and cared for him until the helo landed and transported him on to Camp Leatherneck,” related Sablan.
It was after the deployment back at Twentynine Palms, California, that Sablan discovered he would be a recipient of the Purple Heart.
“I felt very undeserving compared to what others have gone through and then been presented the Purple Heart,” Sablan said, adding that it wasn’t until a senior hospital corpsman shared with him the real significance of being presented the medal.
“He said that that ‘you’re not wearing it for yourself. You’re wearing it for all those who never made it back.’ To have it explained like that meant a lot,” explained Sablan.
When the device is formally worn, the Purple Heart features a profile of General George Washington, and above the heart appears a shield of the Washington coat of arms between sprays of Green leaves.
The reverse side has a raised bronze heart with the words ‘For Military Merit’ prominently featured.
It’s that specific meaning that was the driving force behind commemorating August 7 as Purple Heart Day. General George Washington created it on that day in 1782 as a military decoration presented to those wounded or killed while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2021 09:05 |
| Story ID: | 402733 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 700 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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