Marine Corps News Room

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/286E3FE1ECC1259A852570AA00661D09?opendocument

Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 20051030133521
Story by Cpl. James D. Hamel

AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 30, 2005) -- Gunnery Sgt. Rose M. Noel, the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26 electronic counter measures repair center noncommissioned officer-in-charge, is the ultimate family person. One of her families is in the United States and includes her children and mother. Her other family is the Marine Corps, and more specifically, her fellow Marines in MALS-26.

Something happened that threatened to take her away from both of her families permanently, Aug. 27. After returning from a brief vacation in Qatar, Noel was on her way to draw a weapon from the armory. She was almost there when an indirect fire round impacted near her.

“I immediately thought, ‘this is going to ruin my day,’” she said. “I knew I had been hit by something, but I thought it was debris that had been kicked up. I went straight to the armory and said I had been struck by IDF.”

The armorer on duty knew immediately Noel’s injury was very serious. He radioed for a vehicle to transport her to the hospital. Meanwhile, he gave her a green T-shirt to slow the bleeding.

“It was a pretty good bandage,” she said.

When she got to the hospital, everyone had taken cover in the basement and it seemed deserted. After calmly asserting her need for help, someone came to administer medical attention. Her last memory was in an Al Asad hospital room, preparing to fly to Balad, Iraq.
Back at the squadron’s compound, Noel’s officer-in-charge, Capt. Jeffrey S. Clemons, had grown a little worried.

“When the IDF hit, I knew she was on the way to the armory,” he said. “About 45 minutes after it hit, I found out she had been hit and I went to the hospital immediately.”

As Noel lay unconscious in a hospital, the MALS-26 sergeant major prayed at her bedside. Minutes later, Clemons and another Marine from the squadron loaded Noel into a helicopter for the flight to Balad, where she would receive further care.

The doctors in Balad planned to send Noel to Germany, and then back the United States. With a 1 and a half inch piece of shrapnel lodged in her cheek, the doctors wanted to remove it surgically, wire her mouth shut and end her deployment prematurely. But the 17 and a half year Marine Corps veteran wouldn’t have it. As the doctors found out, sending her home was about as possible as wiring her mouth shut.

“From what I understand, I was very belligerent about wanting to return to my Marines,” she said. “My jaw was broken, but I never shut up.”

Though the opportunity to cut a year-long combat tour would be enticing to some, it never crossed Noel’s mind.

“The Rosie in me would have wanted to go home, but the (Gunnery Sgt.) Noel wanted to return to her Marines,” she said. “I think the (gunnery sergeant) in me kicked in as soon as the IDF hit.”

Clemons, who characterized Noel as a well-spoken, outgoing Marine, said her desire to return to her duties is indicative her character as a Marine.

“Her emphasis as soon as this happened was on showing the Marines that no matter what, we can still come back and serve the Marine Corps,” he said. “She was very strong, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone like her.”

The doctors were forced to relent, and sent Noel back to her work. She did get a trip home, a scheduled two-week leave period where one of her sons commented on the “coolness” of her battle scar. Noel became one of the few female service members to receive the Purple Heart, Oct. 29, the nation’s oldest military award.

Despite the level of award, Noel asked for a subdued ceremony that included her final reenlistment. Her only desire was for a large crowd of Marines to be present, not for her fame, but so they could see a living reminder of the danger they face.

“Not a whole lot of MALS Marines are wounded in action,” she said. “I think this makes it more real, and for them, it’s a good experience.”

After presenting her the award, Brig. Gen. Robert E. Milstead, Jr., referenced her two families, and told the Marines assembled they should draw inspiration from Noel’s continued service despite personal injury.

“If this doesn’t do something to you, you’re dead,” he said.

As for Noel, she’s just happy to get back to work and finish the job she came to do.
“Each day is a gift,” she said. “Of course everyone wants to get home, but I want it to be on my own terms, not the insurgents’ (terms). I’m here. I’m back in the fight. That’s what (gunnery sergeants) do. That’s what Marines do.”