When Lance Cpl. Shawn Gooch joined the Marines almost four years
ago he had no idea that his and his fellow Marines
’ experiences in Iraq would send his mother off on a crusade.
But it did.
When Lance Cpl. Shawn Gooch joined the Marines almost four years ago he had no idea that his and his fellow Marines’ experiences in Iraq would send his mother off on a crusade. But it did.
Morgan Hill resident Barbara Serrano went into action after Gooch was wounded in early November and is working to collect supplies for the injured in military hospitals who are often forgotten. She is also working to raise bunds to help pay for a Fisher House at the Palo Alto Veterans’ Hospital so family members can stay nearby at low cost and visit the wounded 24-hours a day.
A Fisher House certainly helped Gooch’s family, his mom said.
Gooch said his Infantry unit was in the first main thrust into Fallujah when the U.S. military began its concentrated attack after the Nov. 2 presidential election. Though he was half way through his second yearlong tour in Iraq, Gooch said this was his first really big battle.
“We went right down the center of the city,” Gooch said. “It was scary, but then we just overcame it. You have to.”
While his unit had all the personal armor they needed, he said, their military Humvee did not come protected.
“Yes, we scavaged for armor,” he said.
Gooch’s unit, the Third Battalion, 1st Marines, India Company, is based at Camp Pendleton outside San Diego. Called “The Thundering Third,” it was activated in March 1941 and has taken a heroic part in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Somalia and, earlier this year, in the first offensive on Fallujah, in August.
After he was hit he was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the military’s only major medical facility in Europe, then airlifted to San Diego where his mom found her new crusade.
Gooch’s wife, Shanna, came from Minnesota to stay in the Fisher House and was able to visit him any time, 24 hours a day.
He won’t be going back to Iraq because he only has six months left on his enlistment
A shattered elbow and broken humerus will need two to eight months’ therapy with no promise of 100 percent recovery.
“Right now I have no use of the arm,” Gooch said in a telephone interview, six weeks after the injury.
Doctors tell him he should have most, but probably not all, of the arm’s mobility back.
Gooch grew up in San Jose but moved to Minnesota to finish high school where he met his wife, Shanna. The couple now has two sons, Damian, 7, and Kaiden, 2.
The Marine is now back in Minnesota, working on his therapy but, he found time to visit Damian’s second-grade class room.
“I told them about living conditions in Iraq, the things I did and the people I met – what the Iraquis are like – vehicles I’ve been in,” he said.
Gooch said he “hasn’t a clue” what he will do when he leaves the service. His pre-military work was in security but he’s open to suggestions.
Is he glad to be home? Yes and no.
“Yes, because it’s the holidays,” he said. “And no, basically because my second family is still out there suffering, going through hardships in Fallujah.”
Why did he choose the Marines?
“It’s a better branch; I like the toughness and I’ve always liked a challenge,” Gooch said.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
