Local News - April 2003

Lincoln Marine wounded in Iraq

Published April 7, 2003

Sgt. Larry Shawn Patrick

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

Larry Patrick got a phone call Thursday afternoon that no parent of a soldier ever wants.

A gunnery sergeant from Camp Pendleton in California called to inform Patrick that his son was injured during combat in Iraq.

Sgt. Larry Shawn Patrick, who goes by Shawn, was shot in the foot while commanding a five-man special forces team with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The injury is not life-threatening, and doctors expect Patrick to fully recover.

“It’s never easy with something like that, but we were just hoping for the best,” Larry Patrick said.

Patrick was able to talk to his son Friday morning from a field hospital in Iraq. Shawn Patrick couldn’t give any details about what happened, but his immediate thoughts were about the troops he commands and getting back to the battlefield.

“The first thing he wanted to do was put his boots back on and go back out,” Larry Patrick said. “That’s a Marine for you.”

The doctor who treated Shawn Patrick told him that he would be taken to Kuwait for further treatment. He will eventually be sent to a medical ship in the Persian Gulf or Ramstein, Germany, where other U.S. troops injured in the fighting have been transported.

Larry Patrick said he and his wife, Carolyn, have received a tremendous outpouring of support from friends and family.

“It’s been spectacular; the phone hasn’t quit ringing,” he said.

While he has appreciated the support, Patrick wanted to reinforce the need to support the men and women fighting overseas.

“I think everyone needs to back our troops and have them in our hearts and minds and prayers,” he said.

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Staff Writer Jeremy Ashton can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jashton@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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