Brave Marine joked after being blown up "I told you guys I was gonna get to go home first"

MILITARY: Escondido Marine stays upbeat despite toll from roadside bomb

By MARK WALKER
Posted: Saturday, February 11, 2012


Five months after a bombing in Afghanistan tore off his legs, Marine Cpl. Michael Fox plans to stand on the parade deck at Camp Pendleton in early April and greet his buddies when they come home from war.

And he'll be smiling.

No one doubts the Escondido-raised Fox will be there, least of all his rehabilitation specialists at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

They also don't doubt he'll have a big grin on his face ---- that's just his way.

Fox even cracked a joke just after the hidden bomb detonated Nov. 15, shearing off his right leg above the knee and his left leg below the knee.

When his fellow Marines and a Navy medical corpsman rushed to his side, the resilient Fox greeted them with typical aplomb: "See, I told you guys I was gonna get to go home first."

The blast came as he and the rifle squad he led in the Helmand province area of Shir Ghazi searched a compound.
read more here