C. Falls grad treats casualties in Iraq

Jim Graham remembers the first time he cared for multiple casualties in Iraq.

"We had 12 people show up on a medevac chopper that were anywhere from walking wounded to critical condition," Graham said.

He admits he was nervous, but he drew on the intense training he received after enlisting in the Navy from the Flathead Valley in 2002.

Although Graham holds the rank of seaman, the U.S. Marines he serves in Iraq know him as "Doc." As a Navy corpsman, he said he has a single mission: "My job is to save as many lives as possible."

Those lives aren't limited to coalition forces. His first multiple casualty event was a large family of Iraqi civilians mangled when an insurgent detonated a bomb next to them.

"As soon as we got them, we lost a few right away for their wounds were just too great," Graham said. "But out of 12 people that night, we saved nine."

The Iraqi family had been picking up shell casings alongside a road when they were targeted. Graham said they were just trying to make a little money by collecting the brass for recycling.

"They were innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

Since deploying to Iraq twice, Graham has responded to 15 events involving multiple casualties. For a 25-year-old man, he has seen a lot of pain and agony.

He has treated second- and third-degree burns all over people's bodies, multiple gunshot wounds, vehicle accident victims with severe internal injuries, multiple broken bones, dislocations of every joint in the body and other trauma.

Since his first baptism in blood, Graham now handles these emergencies with calm and ease.

"The military does a very good job of teaching you how to stay calm in the worst conditions you can think of," he said. "Besides, it doesn't help the patient any if you are freaking out."

Now in his second deployment, he serves in the western part of Iraq near Fallujah. A hotbed of insurgency, Fallujah is about 40 miles from Baghdad.

His life there seems more than a half a world away from the Flathead where Graham graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1998.

After high school, he tried a variety of jobs from working at golf courses and on Big Mountain to collections work, all the while dreaming of a career in medicine.

Having little luck breaking into a medical field, Graham took a look at the Navy and Marine Corps. He found the best of both worlds as a Navy corpsman attached to the Marine Corps.

His parents, Phil and Terri Wirz, have since moved to Charlo but Graham still intends to return to the Flathead Valley after his service. He hopes to find a house to buy.

"I actually fantasize about the Flathead Valley," he said. "It's all desolate and heat here."

To get a visual idea of his reality, Graham suggests tuning in to reruns of the old "M*A*S*H" television program.

His mobile clinic amounts to a makeshift tent full of medical equipment. A generator provides power but it often goes down due to temperatures above 120 degrees.

The complex includes a few trauma rooms, a makeshift pharmacy and lab and a few sick bays.

Graham, five other corpsmen and one doctor provide care for more than 700 Marines. They also attend to anyone else who needs medical help.

He said most Iraqi civilians react with fear when first approached by medical professionals. But Graham said that changes once they realize they have to save their lives.

"Their faces light up and they are very thankful," he said.

He has begun to see a change in the Iraqi people as the insurgents target innocent people.

"They are actually beginning to fight back and battle the insurgents themselves," he said.

Many times, Graham said, their efforts have saved the lives of U.S. troops. He regrets that these stories never seem to show up in the mainstream media.

According to Graham, the camp receives CNN and FOX news on a fairly regular basis. He and others with their boots in Iraq get a laugh over the uninformed war opinions of pundits who have never been in Iraq.

"We just shake our heads," he said.

He says he shouldn't comment on the war either because he isn't fighting the war.

As part of the 2nd Medical Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, Graham's mission remains making sure those who are fighting come home alive.

He has no regrets for what he terms his spontaneous decision to join the Navy.

"It has all paid off for I have been all over the United States and the world and have a lifetime of experience that I would not already have," Graham said.

He expects his service to give him a huge competitive edge in school and in a future career in medicine.

Graham has begun preparing for life after his Navy hitch ends in 2008 by taking university courses online. His Iraq experiences have fueled a desire to become a full-fledged physician.

"The most amazing feeling in the world is the one you get right after you have just saved someone's life," Graham said. "And you have either the person or their family thanking you."

He invites e-mail from people in the Flathead to jguneek@yahoo.com. Graham said those communications keep his morale up between his trips back home.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com