Date of Incident01/25/1968
ConflictVietnam 1957-1975
RankPrivate First Class
UnitCompany I, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division
StatusWounded in Action
Eugene Ogozalek writes, "....Less than three minutes passed from when I was in place at the perimeter when a round landed about six feet away to my right rear. My best reconstruction of the explosion is that it picked me off the ground and flipped me in a clockwise rotation with arms flailing in a pinwheel. As I opened my eyes in a position in which one would go to sleep, my head was resting on my outstretched right arm, lying on my side. However, upon opening my eyes, I was covered with dirt. I threw my dirt filled glasses off, then brushed my arm off with my left hand revealing the open three inch gash in my right forearm. I could hear the other Marines screaming for the Corpsman. My right ankle was on fire and I was stunned. I began to scream very loudly as well for the Corpsman. The blast created an incredible ringing in my ears that took a full day to disappear. ...After a few minutes, my sergeant and lieutenant arrived, with a corpsman, and began to dress my wounds. My head had the most visible wound above my right ear: the right side of my face, head, and neck were covered in blood. My right ankle had a hot piece of shrapnel searing my Achilles tendon. The corpsman pulled a boot full of blood off of my right foot...."
Narrative submitted with the enrollment