[release]
[h=1]DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.—A Marine officer said Friday he reacted as he was trained to do by chasing two men who stole a gold necklace he thought they were buying, and then using his fingers to plug bullet holes in his body when one of them opened fire.
Lt. Col. Karl Trenker, a 29-year Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, demonstrated at a hospital news conference how he stuck his fingers on his left hand into two holes in his left chest and another finger from his right hand where a .22-caliber bullet entered his abdomen. His doctor said the move helped staunch the flow of blood.
"I'm a Marine and I'm not going to run from a fight," Trenker said. "You wouldn't want a Marine to run from a fight. Call me crazy, call me stupid. I got shot once and it just angered me more. I wanted to get this guy. I got shot twice, and I re-evaluated that decision. I decided I need to stay alive."
As for the use of his fingers, Trenker said, "I improvised."
Trenker, 48, was shot multiple times Dec. 21. He had driven with four of his children to meet a man who responded to a Craigslist ad for the necklace. Two suspects are jailed on attempted murder and robbery charges.
Trenker, who was released Friday from North Broward Medical Center, will be left with one slug lodged in his pelvis but otherwise should make a full recovery, said Dr. Igor Nichiporenko. The doctor credited Trenker's military training and fitness for his rapid recovery -- as well as his use of fingers to plug the bullet holes.
"I think he did the right thing," Nichiporenko said. "It's amazing. He's going to be fine."
The 18-inch necklace was put on Craigslist by Trenker's fiancee, Tanya Saiz, who initially planned to meet the man and make the deal herself. The idea, she said, was to get a little extra cash for a surprise Christmas present for Trenker. But Trenker said he'd go instead, thinking that there could be a little danger involved. He figured he'd take the kids on to the beach afterward.
Even though he met the men in broad daylight at a busy apartment complex, one of them grabbed the necklace and ran off. After Trenker chased them and was shot, he made his way back to his truck -- where his four young boys were -- and called Saiz on his cell phone to tell her he'd been shot.
"I stopped for a minute, and was waiting for the punch line," she said. "I think I went into shock. It was the scariest moment of my life."
Nichiporenko said Trenker was bleeding internally and externally when he arrived at the hospital and was immediately taken into surgery. The gunshot to his abdomen required removal of a portion of one intestine, the doctor said.
Meanwhile, a Broward Sheriff's Office report said Trenker's 12-year-old son gave a detailed description of the assailants, who were quickly apprehended nearby. The men, James Flounory and Jeff Steele, both 20, are being held without bail; court records Friday did not indicate whether either man had a lawyer. A third man is charged with attempting to hide the gun.
Trenker said he intends to have a good holiday meal, get started on physical therapy and eventually return to active duty at the Marine Corps unit attached to the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command. His job there involves operations planning for counternarcotics and counterterrorism missions, one of which recently resulted in seizure of a 4,400-pound cocaine load off Honduras worth some $245 million.
"I believe according to my faith that somebody was watching over me. It could have been a lot worse," he said. "I feel extremely lucky."[/release]
[URL]http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/12/30/marine_says_he_plugged_gunshot_wounds_with_fingers/[/URL]
Fucking amazing
[/h]
Holy fuck he's nearly 50 and still in the Marines. And he had the bad ass "Fuck you pussy shoot me again" attitude till the third round.
Someone get this man a lifetime supply of whatever the fuck he want's because he's a badass.
Marines: the toughest motherf****s on the planet.
Navy and Airforce move out the way it's marine time
self first aid. you're doing it right.
It's a good thing it was .22 because otherwise this wouldn't have worked...
[QUOTE=Hiurst;33985046]It's a good thing it was .22 because otherwise this wouldn't have worked...[/QUOTE]
Regardless it still probably hurt like hell. I think I speak for just about everyone on facepunch when I say I'd be on the ground after one bullet.
The Marinenator
He's like the little Dutch boy who put his finger in the leaky dyke except more hardcore.
[quote]"I'm a Marine and I'm not going to run from a fight," Trenker said. "You wouldn't want a Marine to run from a fight. Call me crazy, call me stupid. I got shot once and it just angered me more. I wanted to get this guy. I got shot twice, and I re-evaluated that decision. I decided I need to stay alive."[/quote]
Hardcore.
[QUOTE=OrionChronicles;33984981]Marines: the toughest motherf****s on the planet.[/QUOTE]
Marines: naval infantry who devote too much time to circle jerking each-other and coming up with motivational material.
Reminds me of that guy that used a tampon to plug a bullet hole he got at a shooting range accident.
[QUOTE=Hiurst;33985046]It's a good thing it was .22 because otherwise this wouldn't have worked...[/QUOTE]
A bullet is still a bullet, whether it's a 9mm or a .22, it's still gonna bleed and it's still gonna hurt. Maybe it wouldn't have been his fingers, he probably would've ripped off clothing or something.
what a boss
*gets shot
"Screw bandages!"
*uses fingers
You know what they say: once a Marine, always a Marine.
sticking fingers in bullet wounds has been a old trick to help stop blood flow to the region, medics did it as standard back in WWI and WWII.
[QUOTE=solid_jake;33984992]Navy and Airforce move out the way it's marine time[/QUOTE]
Marines better remember who they work for
[sp] the navy [/sp]
[QUOTE]I got shot once and it just angered me more. I wanted to get this guy.[/QUOTE]
Holy shit.
[quote]The idea, she said, was to get a little extra cash for a surprise Christmas present for Trenker. [B]But Trenker said he'd go instead, thinking that there could be a little danger involved[/B][/quote]
Why did he bring his kids if he thought this?
[QUOTE=OrionChronicles;33984981]Marines: the toughest motherf****s on the planet.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://www.kgb-militaryschool.com/site/img_uploads/spetsnaz/b0113.jpg[/img]
Spetsnaz would like a word.
[QUOTE=purvisdavid1;33984979]Holy fuck he's nearly 50 and still in the Marines. And he had the bad ass "Fuck you pussy shoot me again" attitude till the third round.
Someone get this man a lifetime supply of whatever the fuck he want's because he's a badass.[/QUOTE]
snip
[QUOTE=JaegerMonster;33985162]Marines: naval infantry who devote too much time to circle jerking each-other and coming up with motivational material.[/QUOTE]
We spend more time getting blown up and watching our friends get blown up and maimed by IED's and other shit, sir, than anything else. Thank you for your thoughtful post nonetheless.
I've met Lt. Col. Trenker once in Miramar and then once on one of my deployments to Afghanistan. He really is the epitome of what every Marine should aspire to becoming.
[QUOTE=Spycrabz;33985715][img]http://www.kgb-militaryschool.com/site/img_uploads/spetsnaz/b0113.jpg[/img]
Spetsnaz would like a word.[/QUOTE]
Google "blood stripes hazing". It's very similar to what they are doing in that picture. Pretty much the most painful experience in my life, worse than getting shot even.
[QUOTE=OrionChronicles;33984981]Marines: the toughest motherf****s on the planet.[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7T84ax2bLE[/media]
uh, no, marines are human beings with all their flaws and all their benefits
respecting someone's training and dedication is fine, but the whole "yeah mareeeeens" circlejerk on the internet is annoying
[QUOTE=Kopimi;33985850]
uh, no, marines are human beings with all their flaws and all their benefits
respecting someone's training and dedication is fine, but the whole "yeah mareeeeens" circlejerk on the internet is annoying[/QUOTE]
the op's man was half a century old though, i'm sure he's tougher than nails.
I wish this guy was my grandpa.
[quote]"I'm a Marine and I'm not going to run from a fight," Trenker said. "You wouldn't want a Marine to run from a fight. Call me crazy, call me stupid.[B] I got shot once and it just angered me more.[/B] I wanted to get this guy. I got shot twice, and I re-evaluated that decision. I decided I need to stay alive." [/quote]
[IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PZ4Ryv4wbOw/ShJsUpSMPfI/AAAAAAAABCI/stoPdCd12TA/s320/Flesh_Pound_PR_Character_Sh.jpg[/IMG]
Marines are definitely some of the toughest people on the planet, I have a lot of respect for them. They endure a lot with what they do in training and out in the battlefield, it's pretty amazing. I'd love to see someone tell a marine they disagree with any of that :v:
Im facebook friends with girl who's boyfriend is a marine.
He never smiles in the pictures where they're together :(
[QUOTE=Coridan;33985839]Google "blood stripes hazing". It's very similar to what they are doing in that picture. Pretty much the most painful experience in my life, worse than getting shot even.[/QUOTE]
ow ow OW
[QUOTE=Spycrabz;33985715][img]http://www.kgb-militaryschool.com/site/img_uploads/spetsnaz/b0113.jpg[/img]
Spetsnaz would like a word.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://sascommand.webs.com/photos/SAS/badge-regiment-sas.gif[/img]
SAS says Hello.
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