Photo By Chief Petty Officer Brannon Deugan | PENSACOLA, Florida (February 22, 2019) Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Steven Martin,...... read more read more
PENSACOLA, Florida (February 22, 2019) On Feb. 22, a Sailor assigned to Naval Hospital Pensacola was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action during a 2011 deployment.
In October 2011, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Steven Martin was a young hospitalman who had been deployed for only two weeks to Afghanistan when he suffered two concussions within 72 hours from separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks during patrols while assigned to the 1st Marine Division.
The first IED occurred while returning from night observation post with his squad. While maneuvering from a cornfield into an irrigation ditch that was approximately two feet deep, the squad leader stepped on an IED. Martin was directly behind the squad leader when the IED detonated.
“The next thing I know, I’m trying to get my bearings because it knocked me down,” said Martin. “When I began to regain a little bit of orientation, I realized the IED blast ended up doing a bilateral leg amputation along with a couple of fingers on the squad leader. I treated him and we got him a causality evacuation.”
After suffering a concussion, a mandatory 24-hour observation period had to be completed prior to conducting another patrol. Following his observation period, Martin’s next mission was to conduct a night patrol. A sudden moment of familiar disorientation occurred when another IED detonated.
“The same thing happened where the person in front of me stepped on an IED, and I got my world rocked a little bit,” said Martin. “He was a single leg amputation, and I was treating him with the light on my Kevlar while taking [fire] from across the river. I got two concussions back-to-back in a matter of about 72 hours.”
After the two IED explosions, Martin received the Bronze Star of Valor for his efforts as a corpsman and was approached by his leadership about the Purple Heart.
“I was 20 [years old] and I didn’t feel like I deserved the same award as my friends who had lost their limbs,” said Martin. “In my mind, it didn’t equate as the same thing for me.”
However, more than seven years later, Martin has developed a better understanding of how the injuries he sustained have impacted his life.
“I’m experiencing first-hand how a traumatic brain injury actually gets worse over time,” said Martin. “At the time, I was just having occasional prolonged headaches or tinnitus. However, now I go to neurology for Botox [injections] because I have constant migraines. It was a slow development, but now I understand I actually have long term issues from [the concussions].”
Martin is still in contact with the Marines he served with and rendered aid to after the IED detonations. For him it was important to get their approval before accepting the Purple Heart.
Martin’s father, a retired U.S. Navy chief machinery repairman, lives locally in Milton, Florida and was able to attend and pin the Purple Heart on his son.
“I am very proud of my son,” said Wilbur Martin, Steven’s father. “The most important part is that he came back in one piece. He was raised and learned to always do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.”
The Purple Heart is the oldest military award still being given in the name of the President of the United States. Historical notes show that after the end of the American War of Independence, no medals were awarded until 1932, when the Purple Heart was revived on the bicentennial anniversary of George Washington's birthday. According to a circular dated February 22, 1932, Purple Heart Medals were to be awarded to those wounded or killed while serving in the United States Armed Forces as a result of enemy action on or after April 5, 1917.
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2019 14:48 |
| Story ID: | 311671 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 4,859 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NHP Corpsman Receives Purple Heart, by Jason Bortz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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