Wounded Marine mends at NavHosp Jax

On Aug. 16, Corbin's Humvee hit an improvised explosive device (IED) while his unit was patrolling an area in the Anbar Province, northwest of Baghdad. By the following Monday, he had arrived at Naval Hospital Jacksonville. At the same time some very anxious family members including his mother, Brenda Ross Cooper, sister, Tasha Corbin, fianc Brianna Alexander and his son, Donovan Corbin were also headed to the hospital to be his side. Little Donovan was just a month old when his dad deployed four months ago.

Corbin's four-man squad did daily eight-hour armored Humvee patrols of a specified area in the region. On that Sunday, Corbin and his squad were searching for a stray ordnance. About four hours into the search they decided to search a berm alongside a canal. That's when their vehicle exploded the IED.

Despite a blast that devastated the Humvee all the members of his squad survived. Corbin, sustained a broken leg, a crushed elbow, small cuts, burns and bruises. Vehicle Commander Cpl. Cameron Hanks who was next to Corbin was stunned and somewhat incoherent following the blast; Gunner Lance Cpl. Sou Thoa, who was standing at his weapon, was blown out of the vehicle and suffered a concussion and the Lance Cpl. Michael Williams escaped pretty much unscathed.

Corbin said he was pretty dazed for the first few minutes but as he was pulled from the wreckage by fellow Marines from a truck convoy. Army medics quickly arrived on the scene by helicopter and prepared him for transport to an Army field hospital. Corbin said he was aware enough to joke and tell them he'd be all right. When he got back to the forward operating base, his wounds were cleaned and the wounds stabilized surgically. From there, he was transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where his wounds were closed and braced. The next day, he was medically evacuated to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. He stayed there overnight before his final transport to Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, his family had been contacted by the Marine Corps notifying them that he had been wounded. Shaken by the news, Brianna said, she and the rest of the family hastily arranged to come to Jacksonville to be here to be with him.

While his return could certainly have been under happier circumstances, Corbin said that he looks forward to recovering to as close to 100 percent as possible. A plus is that he will be able to see more of his son as he grows up. He observed that Donovan had already changed a lot while he was away. "You don't realize how quickly they grow up," he said.

He said he's been in contact with his squad back in Iraq and learned that while Thoa's condition is still being evaluated, everyone seems to be doing pretty well, now. In fact, Williams is back on patrol, this time in Corbin's seat as the driver.

In addition, to the pain of his wounds, Corbin said, the hardest part of this has been being away from his fellow Marines. "I kind of miss the guys," he said. "It kind of got to be a routine, you have someone to argue with everyday, to talk to everyday and you're used to doing your job. I feel a little guilty knowing that they are now shouldering my part of the job as well."

Corbin said this is the first time he's really faced anything like this. In fact, he's never been hospitalized for anything. But he says he's taking it one day at a time. At Naval Hospital Jacksonville he went through a couple of rounds of surgery to repair his leg and put a plate and pin in his elbow. He's started therapy and there will be additional treatments. Corbin checked out of the hospital Aug. 24 and headed home with his family. In Jacksonville, he and his family were well looked after by Orthopedic Surgeon Cmdr. Gregory Harback, Safe Harbor Coordinator HMCS Deborah Bannister and Case Manager Sherry Dotson as well as the entire surgical ward team.

Corbin is still proud to be a United States Marine. "I always wanted to be a Marine since I was little," he said adding, "If you're going to do something, do something that is the best. Oooh Rah!"