Marine Sergeant James Wright is a living inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to be around him, but is virtually ignored by the mainline media.
awarded the Bronze Star for valor in combat, in place of his two hands, Sergeant Wright gets by with the two steel hooks that had to replace them.
Currently in training as a hand-to-hand combat instructor at the Marine Corps Martial arts Commitment to Excellence Program at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, the young marine is living proof of something the mainline media doesn't want out: acts of american heroism pay for the price of freedom in Iraq.
Sergeant Wright's both hands were severed and he received a major leg wound when the lead Humvee in which he was riding was struck by a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), while on patrol with the First Reconnaissance Battalion in Iraq.
The blast punctured his left eardrum after blowing off his helmet and safety glasses. In the Humvee, the seriously wounded marine opened his eyes to a living nightmare. "I opened my eyes," he said, "and looked at my hands. I saw they were both gone. I remember thinking `damn, both of them?' (mensnewsdaily.com, august 27, 2005).
The blast had also torn deeply into Wright's leg, leaving the thighbone visible with massive bleeding. He knew instinctively that he had to get medical assistance at once.
With three other Marines also wounded in the vehicle, Wright, according to his award citation "was the epitome of composure". Refusing to give in to panic and fear, he calmly instructed others how to get on the radio and call for support. He told them how to render first aid. The courageous marine also pointed out enemy machine-gun emplacements to his fellow Marines, thus assisting in the demise of 26 enemies killed in action.
Even in the heat of battle, Wright was instructing one of his Lance Corporals how to put tourniquets on his wounds.
"I had to stay calm," he insists. "If I freaked out the younger Marines without combat experience would freak out."
When Major General Thomas S. Jones, Commanding General of the Training and Education Command was visiting Wright in his hospital bed at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, the Marine was asked to recount the story of the RPG blast.
The general finally asked how he had managed to keep from going into shock and passing out. Wright simply replied, "Sir, I couldn't pass out. I was in charge."
Now undergoing the lengthy process and patience needing medical evaluation, end result of which will be medical retirement from the Marine Corps, Wright would rather return to his unit.
Inactive not something in his dictionary, he decided to return to the Marines the best way he could, by training as a martial arts instructor. This is a course that leaves the textbooks behind and finds him taking his turn getting banged about on the mats.
Other troops recovering from wounds liken Marine Sergeant James Wright to the Marine heroes of yesteryear. This Marine of proverbial true grit speaks openly of his experiences and about his personal progress as he continues medical treatment.
When not participating in Martial arts classes, Wright also instructs other Marines in values and ethics.
"as active as I was as a Marine, it wasn't in my nature to be sitting around the hospital doing nothing. For me to have the opportunity to come back to work has reintroduced me to my life and my passion to be a Marine," says the plucky Sergeant.
The mainstream media may be able to suppress the good news coming out of Iraq, but even they cannot suppress inspiration of the goose bump kind.
Marine publications and military papers around the world have carried the courageous Sergeant's story. Bloggers writing on the War in Iraq have also relayed Wright's story. The Marine Corps News Service at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia released a detailed article on James Wright in a story written by Corporal Jonathan agg.
The silence from the mainline media has been deafening.
Says Thomas D, Segel of mensnewsdaily.com, "an extensive Google search of Wright's name has not shown a single network television show or a major daily newspaper reporting on the story."
"This inaction on the part of mainstream media is further documentation of its obsession with reporting about bombs and bodies, while ignoring the human element of the war. It is also testimony to media refusal to recognize the many american heroes of our War on Terror," says Segel.
Still, the story of Marine Sergeant James Wright speaks volumes on its own.
Word of mouth breaks through the barriers of mainline media silence. It's a story that never fades from the headlines. For Marine James Wright's story speaks directly to the human heart.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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