The Marines call him a hero for his courageous actions during an enemy ambush in Afghanistan in 2004. They gave him a combat valor award to prove it.
“…they neglected to mention the jokes he cracked at these young guys to help ease the tension. That’s my man. Always on the ball with weapons and wit,” Tami Cargile e-mailed friends and family back then.
She’s been a regular on the Internet since her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cannon Cargile, was wounded in Iraq March 10. Her updates have been eagerly awaited by former teachers and friends of the 1982 Winfield High School graduate and former Southwestern College students.
One former classmate, Eric Graham, happened to be traveling on business in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area when Cargile was flown from Germany to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He visited Cargile two days after he arrived at Bethesda.
“He looked better than I expected and we had a great visit that lasted about an hour,” Graham said. “Cannon has the same great personality as always and his mood was very positive. He was in a lot of pain from the injury to his hand, but he was very upbeat.”
The Marines have made sure that Cargile has had plenty of other visits from the couple’s three kids and his parents who live now in California. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited shortly before Easter.
“Quite a remarkable woman and very pleasant to speak with,” Tami Cargile said. “She thanked Cannon for his service and we thanked her for hers as well.”
“Bubba” and “Lt. Dan” from the movie “Forrest Gump” (Mykelti Williamson and Gary Sinise) stopped by one day and stayed for some picture taking and a little later Medal of Honor recipient Fred Ferguson paid his respects.
General James Conway, the 34th commandant of the Marine Corps, awarded Cargile the Purple Heart for the wounds he received in action March 10.
“Cannon has always been a fighter and the Marine Corps was a perfect fit for him,” Graham said. “I told him I often worried about him and prayed for his safety when there was a conflict ? he has been in seven different combat zones, some on multiple occasions ? but I also felt good about the fact that he was protecting our country and I knew he was born to be a Marine.”
