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Marine from West Babylon earns recognition from San Diego Navy League
When the IED exploded, the West Babylon resident exited his vehicle with his upper body engulfed in flames not knowing he was receiving small-arms fire. When an explosive ordnance disposal team extinguished the burning Marine, he ran to the casualty evacuation point for a situation report disregarding his own injuries and cared for his Marines. "His main concern while we were out there was getting the wounded medical attention and calling in air support," said Sgt. Ruben Montufar, O'Toole'sassistant team leader during the incident. For his actions during an improvised explosive device attack on his convoy, O'Toole, the company first sergeant for Marine Wing Support Squadron 373's support company, earned recognition as the San Diego Navy League's Aviation Marine of the Year. O'Toole officially accepted the award during a ceremony at a 2007 Marine Corps birthday luncheon Nov. 7. "I didn't know I was getting this award until a few days before the ceremony," said O'Toole. "Anytime a Marine wins an award like this, it's a reflection of what kind of Marines he works with." O'Toole led a platoon of more than 60 Marines, while serving as team leader for incident response team 'Havoc' during his last deployment to Iraq. His platoon executed more than 70 explosive ordnance disposal missions as well as 17 mounted combat security patrols around the area where his platoon was operating. On the day of the incident, O'Toole's vehicle was engaged with an IED as his convoy crossed a bridge, claiming the lives of three Marines and wounding O'Toole. "Gunny did a great job of keeping all the Marines informed and calm during this time of high tension," said Montufar. O'Toole was sent to a medical facility in Germany for approximately one month before returning back to his platoon and continuing his mission. "The Marines I was deployed with couldn't have performed better during that time," said O'Toole. "They are the reason for my success." Since he joined the squadron in August 2005, the Long Island, N.Y., native has been an inspirational leader and teacher to the younger noncommissioned officers. "He always leads by example, and I can't wait to serve with him again," said Sgt. Joseph Irizarry, a training NCO with the squadron.
O'Toole was recognized for his actions during this same incident on Oct. 20, when he received a James E. Nicholson Award, also known as the noncommissioned officer leadership award, from the Marine Corps Aviation Association.
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