Bronze Star for Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan McDonell Corpsman Golf Two Five

Doc McDonell saved Cpl Mark O'Brien's life after a RPG blasted a hole in their vehicle causing serious injuries to O'Brien.

“When I came up after the blast, I saw Cpl. (Mark) O’Brien bleeding profusely through the white smoke,” recalled McDonell. “His wounds were bad, and my main concern was to stop the bleeding any way possible.”

While still under intense fire, McDonell applied tourniquets to the wounded Marine’s arm and leg and supervised his loading into the evacuation vehicle.

While driving at high speeds through narrow streets to reach the nearest medical facility, he began a second, more detailed evaluation of the wound. McDonell raised the Marine’s mangled leg and with his bare hands, reached inside the wound and grasped the femoral artery and pulled it through the damaged tissue far enough to apply a second tourniquet.

When this failed to control the bleeding, he reached inside the Marine’s leg and clamped down on the femoral artery, holding it with his fingers until they arrived at the medical facility."

McDonell attended O'Brien's wedding last July.