Images of wounding help LI Marine recover

As Cpl. Alfred Grossklaus recovers from an extensive bullet wound he suffered in Afghanistan, the Riverhead Marine's thoughts often go back to that day. And so do his eyes.

A Getty Images photographer embedded with Grossklaus's squad had captured the moments immediately after he was shot, his face contorted in agony, looks of anguish on the faces of his fellow Marines as they hovered over him.

"It's interesting to me to click through them," Grossklaus, 24, said of the images.

He's not interested in the look of pain on his own face; instead, he studies the expressions of the other Marines, some of his closest friends, as they frantically worked to stanch the bleeding from the wound that tore his colon and fractured his spine.

Grossklaus's wife, Francesca, 22, finds looking at the images difficult.

"It was very shocking to see them," she said. It's "pretty disturbing to have to see your husband shot and on the ground."

But, she said, looking at the pictures seems to help her husband as he faces a grueling recovery.

After Grossklaus felt the bullet rip into his back, he looked down. No exit wound -- a bad sign.

It was June 26, and he had been on routine patrol in the remote Upper Gereshk Valley.

About a dozen Marines in his squad had gone out that day, walking in single file to avoid stepping on any improvised explosive devices hidden off the path, Grossklaus said. He was the third man in line, and had just looked back to make sure his buddy was behind him.

Suddenly, Grossklaus felt the bullet, fired by a Taliban insurgent wielding a machine gun. After striking his colon and spine, the bullet lodged in his pelvis. He went down. He could barely move his legs. And he could tell it was bad.

"I definitely knew it was pretty serious because there was no exit wound," Grossklaus said. "And if there's no exit wound, it means it's still inside you and it's messed some stuff up."

Grossklaus was evacuated from the field by helicopter, then taken to a medical center in Helmand Province, where surgeons operated to repair his colon, opting to leave the bullet in his pelvis because it would cause too much damage trying to get it out.

After nearly three weeks in hospitals, Grossklaus was released July 13. Doctors expect him to recover fully, he said.

He must wear a full body brace and undergo rounds of physical therapy at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Afterward, Grossklaus is to go back to his base at Twentynine Palms, Calif., before a scheduled discharge in February. He then plans to study finance.

Even with his injuries, he said, he has no regrets.

"I've always wanted to be a Marine," said Grossklaus, who has served for 31/2 years. "It was something I just thought, if I didn't do it I would regret it. I definitely don't have any regrets about it at all."

And, he pointed out, he's still one of the lucky ones.

"We took casualties often," said Grossklaus, who was honored in a Jamesport Fire Department parade last week. "I'm pretty fortunate compared to a lot of other Marines that have been double amputees and aren't going to be able to do the things that they used to."