Santa, American Legion Pay Surprise Visit to Wounded Clark Marine

On Nov. 15, as the rest of town was preparing for Thanksgiving and the start of the holidays, Marine Sergeant Michael Brattole, 22, was a world away in Marjah, Afghanistan when  Though he sustained serious injuries that required lifesaving surgeries to retrieve shrapnel from his heart, legs and arms, Brattole's first thoughts in recovery were concern for the rest of his team.

Coming home to recover after receiving the , Brattole, a 2006 graduate of Arthur L. Johnson High School, received a hero's welcome in Clark. On Saturday, Dec. 18, Santa and the Clark American Legion decided to thank Brattole personally. 

Brattole said he had no idea they were coming. William Duffy, commander of the Clark American Legion Post 328, had visited Brattole's house earlier to inform him that he would receive a lifetime membership to the American Legion. Duffy had said he would return with Brattole's membership card, but instead came back with much more – including the man in red. 

"When we learned of his wounding, our post went into action by starting a fund drive to give him some Christmas spending money and show our appreciation for his heroic actions," Duffy said. "We raised close to $1,200 in two weeks' time."

The gift was in a camouflage Christmas stocking stuffed inside an ammo box Duffy decorated with Marine Corps decals, which also contained Brattole's 2011 Legion membership card and a Blue Star banner. Also in attendance were members of the Martin Dankowski Marine Corps League Detachment of Linden, and Clark Councilwoman Angel Albanese. The council's liaison to the Clark Library, she gave Brattole a library card and several books. 

Brattole's family – including his mother and father, Jane and Frank, and sister Melissa – were in on the surprise. Jane told Patch she could not be more thankful for how well the hospital took care of her son. She pointed to him and said, "That's my Christmas present right there!"

Though Brattole is not 100 percent recovered just yet and still goes to physical therapy several times a week, it would be hard to tell he had major surgery just a month ago. "The first 48 hours was rough," Brattole said. "Everything was hurting. I couldn’t really move my legs and arms that much. The medical treatment I received was out of this world amazing. And I've got to give it to my Marines for what they did right after I was hit. They were the ones that saved my life." 

Brattole said he remembers the attack, which occurred while he was at an observation post with his team. "One of my Marines was up in the tower, and I went to check up on him," he said. "When I got up there, they started shooting at us. We grabbed for our rifles and then they threw a hand grenade in the tower we were in. He ran out first and there wasn’t enough time for me to get out."

Brattole was conscious after the attack. "At first I didn’t feel anything," he says. "Then I crawled out of the post and one of my Marines helped me down. They started performing first aid on me, applied pressure to my chest and called in the mobile unit to come pick me up."

Brattole was airlifted to a base hospital in Afghanistan, where he underwent two surgeries. The first surgery was to stop the bleeding and remove visible shrapnel. The second procedure was open-heart surgery to remove shrapnel that had penetrated his heart. He was then moved to a hospital in Germany and later to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland before coming home to convalesce. 

Brattole had been in Afghanistan for five months before the attack and also served on the Marine anti-terrorism task force. (Brattole's squad–2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Echo Company – was also recently profiled by KVAL News, a CBS outfit from Eugene, Oregon. Read that story here.) 

Brattole was more than happy to recover at home. "Seeing my friends and family has motivated me to get better," he said. "People I didn’t even know were sending me cards and wishing me quick recovery. The support I’ve been getting from the town is absolutely amazing, and then the fire department, the American Legion – I don’t know how to repay them or thank them enough."

On Dec. 31st, Brattole returned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where he's performing light duty while continuing to recover. When he spoke with Patch before heading to Camp Lejeune, he said he was anxious to return to duty. "I can’t wait actually," said Brattole. "My Marines are coming home. I’m excited to get back to see them."

Brattole was there to greet his team when they landed. Even after all he has endured, he still modestly demurs the fanfare and the hero title, telling Patch "What is the definition of a hero? I was just doing my job."