Marine graduate injured in Iraq war
By HELENA PAYNE
Senior Staff Writer
First Lieutenant Dustin Ferrell, a 2000 Notre Dame graduate and U.S. Marine, was recently injured in Iraq, according to reports from the Associated Press and Ferrell's mother-in-law, who writes for the Michigan City (Ind.) News-Dispatch.
The AP reported that Ferrell had to receive a field tracheotomy after a Humvee accident that caused chest injuries and broken bones. The operation involves cutting a hole in the threat to allow air to pass through.
"People that have tracheotomies, they survive," said Patti Null, a local charge nurse at Memorial Hospital of South Bend.
As of Tuesday, it was reported that Ferrell was recovering in an Air Force hospital near Frankfurt, Germany.
Ferrell's mother-in-law, Deborah Sederberg, wrote about Ferrell Tuesday for the Michigan City paper, explaining how he was injured.
"The details remain sketchy, but it looks as if Dustin and several other Marines were in an accident in a Humvee. A field tracheotomy by a Navy corpsman saved his life. His trachea had been crushed," Sederberg reported.
Sederberg also wrote about Ferrell's involvement at Notre Dame, where he was active in the Navy ROTC program, which had given him a scholarship.
"Between his academic classes and his military obligation, he seemed to be running or studying nearly every minute of his four years at Notre Dame, on his way to a degree in business and a stint with the Marines," Sederberg said in the article.
Some current Notre Dame Navy ROTC students who worked with him also referred to his leadership.
"I remember him as being a great leader, and also, he had a great sense of humor," said senior John Seiter, who worked under Ferrell when he held the position of public affairs officer in Navy ROTC.
As public affairs officer, Ferrell edited the Navy newsletter. He also wrote a series of columns in The Observer that incited student reactions during his time as an assistant viewpoint editor.
"They did elicit good dialogue," said former Observer managing editor and 2002 graduate Noreen Gillepsie, adding that, "He really wore the responsibility that they teach you in ROTC in office."
Ferrell, an accounting major originally from California, was living in North Carolina with his wife, Rachel, a Saint Mary's graduate, before he was sent to the Middle East. The two were married in August at the Basilica.
In the Air Force hospital, Sederberg reported that Ferrell has to use a ventilator to breathe.
All News Stories for Wednesday, March 26, 2003
