We interrupt our regularly scheduled snipe-fest ...
... the one between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama
... and the one between Jeff Flake and Wil Cardon
... the ones between Republicans and Democrats, between Republicans and Republicans, between Russell Pearce and, well, just about everybody ...
for someone I think we can all agree to support.
His name is Mason Steill.
"I was hoping you could let people know about him," his grandmother, Candy Steill, said this week.
We don't hear much about guys like her grandson, guys who decided that they wanted to stand for something more than just the pursuit of a paycheck, guys who put themselves front and center, right on the line.
Guys who could use a touch of home right about now.
Mason, 22, grew up in Chandler. He graduated from Corona del Sol High School in 2008 and went to Mesa Community College and, somewhere along the way, decided to take his life in a different direction.
Which is how he came to be Army Spc. Mason D. Steill, combat medic.
On June 1, he was on a foot patrol in a remote area of Kandahar province in Afghanistan when his squad came upon an improvised explosive device. They were backing away when it exploded, injuring three men.
Shrapnel tore through Spc. Steill's face and into his left hip and his right knee.
Every bone in his face was shattered that day, leaving him blind in one eye and without a top jaw or a palate.
He's endured several surgeries as his face was rebuilt with titanium -- with more to come as he undergoes bone grafts and rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
His family, naturally, has rallied around, as has the Bethesda, Md., community. Candy said it was eye-opening to see the many wounded soldiers at Walter Reed and realize how little we hear about them.
"On Sundays, Tuesday and Fridays, they bring in a semitrailer. I watched them unload these young men who had come in from Ramstein (Air Base) Germany, injured," she told me. "It was just unbelievable, and I never saw anything on the news about it. A week after he (Mason) was hurt, his platoon was attacked and ambushed, and one was taken hostage, one killed and one injured. I never heard anything on the news about that.
"I remember watching Vietnam every single night on the news, and they didn't even call it a war. This is a war, they're saying, and you hardly ever see it."
Candy said that congressmen and senators regularly drop in to visit with the wounded soldiers from their states but that only Rep. Ben Quayle has visited her son.
Most of the family has gone home now, with plans to take turns staying by Mason's side. It will be six months to a year before Mason can return to Arizona, which is where you and I come in.
Candy called because she wondered if a few of us would send a card to her grandson.
"It makes such a difference to get cards and notes from people and especially his hometown," she said. "It's such a boost to them, and I thought I'm going to let Arizona know because, Laurie, nothing is ever in the papers about the injured soldiers. We hear about the ones that were killed. Even the Department of Defense doesn't really list the numbers (of injured), and these guys need some support."
Candy knows her grandson was one of the lucky ones. He didn't lose a limb or all four limbs like some young soldiers. He didn't come home in a box, as too many do.
Though he has extensive internal injuries, there is a chance he may regain sight in his eye. Whatever happens, Candy said, he will be OK.
"He says he looks handsome with his eye patch and a cane."
What he needs now -- besides surgery and rehab -- is a dose of Arizona and maybe a little something to help pass the time while his body heals. I have it on good authority that Mason has both an iPad -- a gift from the Marines -- and a Kindle, so I'm pretty sure that a few gift cards could be put to good use.
But mostly, he just needs to hear from home. If you'd like to drop him a note, send it to:
Spc. Mason Steill, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Ave., Building 62, Room 316, Bethesda, MD 20889-5600.
What he needs now -- besides surgery and rehab -- is a dose of Arizona and maybe a little something to help pass the time while his body heals. I have it on good authority that Mason has both an iPad -- a gift from the Marines -- and a Kindle, so I'm pretty sure that a few gift cards could be put to good use.
But mostly, he just needs to hear from home. If you'd like to drop him a note, send it to Let him know that Arizona hasn't forgotten -- and, oh yeah, thanks.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2012/07/13/20120713roberts0714-man-who-deserves-thanks.html#ixzz20eSdBlX5
Let him know that Arizona hasn't forgotten -- and, oh yeah, thanks.
Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com.
Mason is on Facebook CLICK HERE to leave him a message
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