May 11, 2012 - Marilyn Durso donates blood at the Walter Reed
National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., with her son, Army
1st Lt. Greg Durso, a platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division
from Fort Drum, N.Y. Durso recently returned to the U.S. from
deployment in Afghanistan. He and his mother visited three of his
friends recovering from severe injuries at Walter Reed. Armed
Services Blood Program photo by Vikki Fernette |
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FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 11, 2012 – Marilyn Durso cherishes a Mother's
Day gift that she calls “a sweet acknowledgment from a son to his
mother.”
It's a shirt with the words “Warriors Come from
Warriors” sprawled across the front that her son, Army 1st Lt. Greg
Durso, gave her a few years ago when he was attending the United
States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
At 23, Marilyn's
son, an Army ranger, deployed to Afghanistan.
“Wearing it
meant more to me personally than wearing it for ‘show,'” she said,
explaining why she wore the shirt under sweaters during her son's
deployment. While donating blood after her son returned home, she
met several warriors and another “Warriors-Come-From-Warriors”
mother.
As a platoon leader in Afghanistan with the 10th
Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., Durso led 40 U.S. soldiers
and about 30 Afghan troops. While on patrol one day, Army Pfc. Rex
Thrap triggered a roadside bomb. Army Spc. Joe Mille ran to help
him, but in the process, triggered a second bomb.
“They never
cried out, they never lost their cool,” Marilyn said, noting the
wounded soldiers were more concerned about their comrades. |
Both Tharp and Mille lost their legs from the bombs.
“But because they were so poised and had it together,
the medic and the rest of the team were able to attend to
them more efficiently,” Marilyn said. “It's survival, spirit
and camaraderie. Who wouldn't want to belong to a group of
people who live under that code?”
Not long after, 1st
Lt. Durso learned that another soldier and friend had been
severely injured during a separate mission. One month into
his deployment, Army 1st Lt. Nicholas Vogt's platoon also
struck several roadside bombs. Moments after the first
detonation, Vogt pushed one of his soldiers out of the way
of a second bomb, and took the brunt of the blast himself.
Vogt survived, but required nearly 500 units of donated
blood.
“Nick's story is a heart-wrenching account of
survival and what people are willing to do to keep others
alive,” Marilyn said. “Once you have an intimate knowledge
of the experience, you can't just sit there.
“Even
though I had never met Nick, when I heard from Greg about
what happened, in that moment, everyone becomes your son and
daughter,” she continued. “You quickly learn that the
military family is large, and it's not just the people in
uniform -- it is friends, the community and the people who
are willing to donate blood.”
Marilyn said her son
wanted to become a soldier from childhood.
“As a
mother, you don't want him to do anything that puts him in
harm's way,” she said, “but you have to rely on his
confidence, his training ... you worry from [the time they
enlist].”
For Marilyn, knowing that the Armed
Services Blood Program is able to provide lifesaving blood
to ill or injured service members worldwide helps to
alleviate some of her fears of sending her son off to war.
“When I heard the story of Nick's injuries and the story
that led to his survival, I know in my mind what [our sons
and daughters] are doing is real,” she said. “And it reminds
me that there are men and women over there right now who
still need our help.”
Lt. Durso, along with his
mother and grandmother, visited Vogt, Tharp and Mille while
they recovered at the Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center in Bethesda, Md. and also donated blood.
At
first, Marilyn said she was concerned the visit would make
her worry more, but she said “it brought me peace and
confidence instead.”
“It was an emotional feeling to
experience how truly dedicated the family was to the well
being of those who do so much to serve and protect us all,”
said Vikki Fernette, blood donor recruiter from the medical
center.
Marilyn was able to spend time with Vogt's
mother, Sheila, and said she could see where Vogt got his
strength.
“She's amazing,” Marilyn said. “A mother
will do anything to help her children get through a rough
time.”
“It was an honor and a privilege to meet and
chat with three generations of patriots who have experienced
firsthand the close fight, both deployed forward and in
support from back home,” said Army Lt. Col. Robert Pell,
chief of blood services at the Bethesda medical center. “The
Dursos truly define commitment, to each other, their
military family and especially to the Armed Services Blood
Program that they support with their selfless blood
donations.”
Marilyn is planning to donate blood again
when she is eligible in July.
“The facilities are
beautiful and you get the chance to thank a soldier
firsthand and see what they are up against, see their spirit
and their great attitudes,” Marilyn said of the medical
facility.
“I can't wait to go back. How do you not do
something that is so simple? If donating blood can keep them
alive until they get to come back home, it's a privilege.”
By Jessica Overbeck
Armed Services Blood Program Office
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2012
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