delicate situation - Balancing commitments to his family at home with his mission on

[thedrifter]

delicate situation - Balancing commitments to his family at home with his mission on the drill field became a matter of heart. Literally.
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego
Story Identification #: 2004521164827
Story by Lance Cpl. Edward R. Guevara Jr.



MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif.(May 21, 2004) -- In his eyes, she is perfect.

However, she was born five weeks early with holes in her heart.

"Julia was in an incubator for the first five weeks of her life," said Staff Sgt. Arnold J. Towle, senior drill instructor, Platoon 1063, Company B. "A heart specialist was monitoring to make sure her blood did not saturate her lungs."

Towle's premature daughter was on medication for the first six months of her life to prevent her body from overworking to breathe.

With responsibilities at home and at work, Towle struggled to balance the two, both which he considered family.

"He was torn," said his wife, Rhonda A. Towle.

As Towle led his platoon through the Crucible at Camp Pendleton, Calif., he received disturbing news.

"I was on top of Range 501 when I got a call from my wife," said Towle. "She said Julia had gone into heart failure. I ran a mile and a half in six minutes to get to my truck."

He rushed to Naval Medical Center San Diego. Although he got there as fast as he could, Towle was not allowed to see his one-month-old daughter since she was already in the operating room. When he finally got to see his daughter, Towle was enraged because Julia still had tubes in her when she came out of the operating room. He felt it was a step backward in her progress.

"I couldn't go because I had to watch Jayden," his wife said of the couple's unruly two-year-old son. "They said when he got there, he looked crazy. I think it was because he was dirty and nasty in his cammies and sleep deprived."

The Farmington, N.H., native found himself trying to support his daughter without letting down his Marines and recruits taking on the Crucible.

"Nobody said he had to be there, but they needed the help and he wanted to help," said his wife.

Towle's leaders knew his daughter was having complications, so they gave him time off when they could-including three weeks when they were at Edson Range.

"I wanted to be there for my wife, but I didn't want to let my team of drill instructors down," he said. "They were already dealing with the stresses of the Crucible."

According to Towle, most Marines in his situation would have gone to work somewhere else within the regiment, so they can have more time to deal with problems. That didn't happen to Towle because he didn't want to go. His company and drill instructors needed his help.

Balancing both almost became too much for him.

"I should have never gone up north, but I wanted to take care of both," said Towle. "I believe in leading by example. I can't tell my (drill instructors) and recruits to do something if I don't do it."

When Company B returned to the Depot, Towle took comfort in knowing the hospital was five minutes away if something happened to Julia.

Although this tested Towle's abilities as a father, husband and Marine, it did not seem to rattle the bond between him and the Marines with whom he works.

"His commanding officer and first sergeant came to the (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to make sure everything was OK," his wife said. "The chaplain came by to see me as well. It's nice to know other people are there to support us."

There was not much the Marines could do, but they did what they could.

"We had to depend on friends," said his wife. "That was new to us. We've never done that before."

Julia is now doing well. On her own growth chart, she is a healthy baby. Compared to other babies, she looks like a newborn, according to Towle.

"She visits a heart specialist every three months to monitor the holes," her parents said. The doctors are hoping the holes will start to close on their own. If they do not, the doctors will need to perform surgery.

According to Towle, the entire ordeal has made him and his wife stronger.

"My wife and kids are the most important things in the world to me," Towle said. "I would give or do anything I could for them."

Towle tries to portray the importance of family and fellow Marines to his recruits.

"During core values time with the recruits, I tell them how the Marine Corps is one huge family with one big support system," said Towle. "By becoming a Marine you just add onto your family."



Staff Sgt. Arnold J. Towle, senior drill instructor, Platoon 1063, Company B, had to adjust his work habits in recent months in order to care for his daughter, Julia, who was born with serious heart complications. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Edward R. Guevara Jr.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...1?opendocument


Ellie

[astro_righteous]

a little late i know. but i just have to reply to this.

on 2004-6-21 i shipped out to boot camp from phx, az. i didnt know who my drill instructors would be. they rarely gave that info at that time. but one man who made a big impact on me and my growth to the person i am today was SDI Ssgt Towle.

today i was just surfing the net and i thought of looking him up because he has always been a role model to me. i came across this posting and i had to read the whole thing just to make sure it was him. sure enough it is.

1093 was my company and we went through a very good amount of suffering which simply added to his everyday problems. for one we lost a drill instructor due to what we understood was an epileptic seizure in the middle of a 2.5 mile run on the field. and i only then saw him in passing, but from that point on Ssgt Towle's duties were much more required from then on as we only had him and another drill instructor. it was hectic everyday but he was always in at his job and did it with pride. a lot of times we could see some frustration but who were to question that.

i would just like to say that he is a model marine and after reading this story i find him to be one hell of a man.