Mayer, Bean honor wounded Iraq veteran

State Sen. Rob Mayer (right) honored Spc. Carl Workman, Jr. of Campbell (pictured with new wife Jayana Workman) Sunday night for wounds he sustained near Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than 60 friends and relatives attended the banquet held at Campbell's American Legion Post no.109.

Sometimes you just can't say "Thank you" enough.

State Sen. Rob Mayer (R-25th District) honored a wounded soldier from Campbell at a banquet Sunday evening at the American Legion Post 109 in Campbell.

"It's an honor to be down here in Campbell to honor a great American hero," Mayer said Sunday evening. "We certainly are proud of him and we know of all the great things that he has done in such a short period of time.

"Often times in todays society there's a lot of people that are touted as heroes. Professional athletes and people in sports are touted as heroes. But it's not often we get a chance to see up close a real American hero."

U.S. Army Specialist Carl Workman, Jr. of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum New York was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on May 1 of this year while on patrol just outside of Baghdad.

Spc. Workman, son of Anna and Carl Workman, Sr., also of Campbell, joined the Army almost immediately after graduating from Campbell High School in May 2002. Upon completion of his basic training in Oklahoma he was sent to Fort Drum.

He was shipped to Iraq in June of 2004 where he was a Gunner on a Humvee for a Sargent Major. He was wounded in May with only one month of service in Iraq remaining.

While on a routine patrol, Workmans' Humvee encountered three IED's. "The first one went off hitting the Sargent Major in the face and the second hit Carl in the left shoulder," said Spc. Workmans' father, Carl, Sr. "Luckily the third didn't go off because it was right under the Humvee."

Workman was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where he stayed for three weeks before being sent home with his family. During his time at Walter Reed he received the Purple Heart medal for injuries sustained in combat.

Representative Otto Bean of the 163rd District was also on hand for the honoring of Spc. Workman. "It's men like Carl who serve in the armed forces to protect us," Rep. Bean said. "Without you we wouldn't have our freedom."

"In today's age it's easy to take for granted our freedoms," Mayer added. "Just this day, a lot of us got up and had the opportunity to attend church and worship as we please. We couldn't do that without American soldiers, men and women, fighting overseas to make that happen.

"Carl, Jr. went thousands of miles away from this fine community of which he grew up and he looked a cowardly dastardly foe right in the face and he told them to bring it on."

Mayer hailed Workman as a foe of terrorism. "A lot of times, we here in southeast Missouri, believe we live kind of a guarded life," he said.

"After September 11 of 2001 we realized real quickly that it's not that big of a world anymore. What happens in the Middle East or the far reaches of the world can impact us right here in southeast Missouri."

Workman is doing much better now. He has limited mobility in his left arm due to the damage done to his rotator cuff by the blast, but his family is just happy he was fortunate enough to come home. According to his parents, Carl's future with the military is unknown at this time due to the nature of his wounds.

Workman has been home since May 24 and on June 18 he married high school sweetheart, Jayana Faulkner.

The couple lives in Campbell, intent on starting a new life together. But the memories of Carl's sacrifices will be with the two forever.