Flight Pundit

Sometimes I forget the folks who are really making a sacrifce for this country. We can’t do that.

In a war marred by prisoner-abuse scandals and rife with political wrangling, Nathaniel R. Leoncio’s heroic actions in Iraq are the pure stuff of legend.

The Navy petty officer third class was on patrol with Marines in southern Ramadi on Oct. 4 when they were struck by a series of roadside bombs. The explosives killed one Marine and seriously injured three other men, including Leoncio.

Although his right thighbone was shattered and he was bleeding internally, Leoncio refused to be evacuated. He ignored his wounds and cared for a severely injured Marine, likely saving the man’s life.

“Doc Leoncio knew he was very seriously injured,” Watson said. “He was spitting up blood, he had shrapnel in his stomach, and he had lost so much blood. He had every right to be worried about his own injures, but he wasn’t.

Amid the chaos of the attack, Watson yelled for a corpsman.

“And (Leoncio) said, ‘Why are you calling for a corpsman when you have one right here?’ ” Watson recalled. “It was funny and inspiring at the same time.”

So he wouldn’t bleed to death, Leoncio calmly told a Marine to tie a tourniquet on his injured leg. As he gave the instructions, Leoncio treated a platoon commander who was bleeding profusely from a fist-sized shrapnel wound in his hip.

Semper Fi Doc Leoncio

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