Photo By Sgt. Jared Lingafelt | (From left to right) Luke Darlington, Paul Vice and Gavin Bolger pose for a photograph...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - “It was a pretty normal day really, then all of a sudden all the children legged it and I knew something was about to go down,” said Paul Vice, a British Royal Marine Commando. “I noticed two guys sitting in the field about two hundred yards away to my right, and I thought ‘you know this just doesn’t add up, that’s not right’.”
Before the combat indicators caught the commando’s attention, Vice warned his men that it might be a long day.
“Just before sunrise, I remember our section commander saying, ‘you’ll find out if it’s good or not if it kicks off in the next 20 minutes’,” said Gavin Bolger, a British Royal Marine Commando. “As soon as the sun came up, we took six casualties.”
On August 25, 2011, in a remote area of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, six British Royal Marine Commandos encountered a blast that would change their lives forever.
Only moments before the blast that severely wounded Vice’s men and caused Vice to flatline twice, he noticed an something strange protruding from a wall.
“As I followed my eye line down I noticed an oil drum poking out of a wall,” said the husband and father of four. “Straight away I knew what it was and I pieced it all together, it was an IED. In that split second I turned around and shouted ‘run’ to Luke behind me.”
Luke Darlington, a British Royal Marine Commando and 2015 Marine Corps Trials athlete suffered severe wounds in the blast, including brain damage.
“I don’t remember much, everything just before the blast is all second hand,” said Darlington. “I remember someone shouting ‘run’, and that’s where it gets all foggy for me.”
After Vice took only one step, the device detonated, seriously injuring Vice and his fellow Commandos.
With shrapnel hanging out of his arms, lung damage, a smashed shin, hearing loss in one ear and a fractured ankle, Bolger picked his rifle up and turned to help his comrades.
“I saw Luke and his face looked like it had been turned inside out, I thought he was dead,” said Bolger, “I could see Vice on the other side of Luke and blood was pumping out of his neck. I started ramming my knee into Vice’s neck to stop the bleeding while we were waiting for the helicopter.”
After the servicemen were evacuated from the battlefield, their fight was not yet over. The three commandos had a long road to recovery ahead of them - a road they conquered with willpower and drive to persevere past their injuries.
“My son would bring home extra spelling books from school with his homework so I could learn to write again with my left hand after losing the use of my right arm,” said Vice, who was awarded the Military Cross, the British equivalent to the Navy Cross, for his brave actions prior to the explosion. “So I thought, what can I even do? I am smashed to pieces. You eventually level everything out and it’s just about getting out and making yourself better. Life is too short to miss out on an opportunity.”
Despite countless hours in recovery, trials and tribulations, the three Royal Marines made the journey to Camp Pendleton to compete in the 2015 Marine Corps Trials.
“The Trials last year, that was my catalyst for improving myself,” said Darlington with a smile. “I’m out here in San Diego enjoying the sun and doing some sport, you just can’t beat it.”
Coming to the trials is all about pushing your limits and experiencing new things, said Darlington.
“Throughout your whole rehab you are constantly told what you can’t do, what you’re not very good at anymore, and this is a way you can find something that you have a passion for,” said Darlington. “You get into a spiral of going down (during recovery) and then you finally find something, then it just takes you up and up, out of that spiral and it builds your confidence.”
Although the three commandos have made great strides in their recovery, Vice says it’s always important to remember the ones who have supported them through their journey.
“The people who do not get enough credit and they should, are the families and volunteers,” said Vice. “I’ve made an incredible recovery, but you can only do that if you have a massive support network and for me it’s my wife and my children.”
“Yeah I may be out here now having the time of my life in this beautiful sun, but my wife is at home with four children still getting on with the daily grind. It is only because she can facilitate that that I get to do these amazing things. They don’t get near enough credit. All of the volunteers here, everyone is top drawer.”
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2015 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 156515 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 554 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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