Military, Officials Honor Soldiers' '911'

TEMPLE TERRACE Military chaplains are the most valuable players on their teams, says Maj. Gen. Michael Diamond of the U.S. Central Command.

Diamond was at the Courtyard by Marriott last week with several other military officers and veterans to honor Army Capt. Terry Cobban, a chaplain wounded in Iraq by a suicide bomb attack in December.

"They are the 911 for all our soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coast Guard people, and during deployment the stress is probably 150 percent more than what it is for the others," said Diamond, who spoke on behalf of Project Gratitude, a nonprofit charitable organization created in Tampa last year by David Lefavor, a retired Navy chaplain and former chaplain at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit.

The program's objective is to thank chaplains who have served tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan with a three-day respite in Tampa for them and their families, where they are treated to a stay at the Marriott Courtyard, compliments of John McKibbon, owner of McKibbon Hotels. They are given free admission to Busch Gardens, the Museum of Science & Industry and the Kennedy Space Center. They also receive gift certificates to several area restaurants, including Lupton's BBQ in Temple Terrace.

Despite his fall move to Dayton, Ohio, Lefavor continues to oversee the program - one that on a quarterly basis recognizes deserving chaplains from across the country - that was instrumental in his being presented the Point of Light award in 2007 by Gov. Charlie Crist for his outstanding volunteerism.

Lefavor planned a trip to visit his grandchildren in Temple Terrace with his wife, Rosemary, so that it coincided with his being able to emcee the ceremony honoring Cobban in the presence of his wife, Su, son Nick, 17, and daughter Elyea, 15.

While on a routine mission in the Baqubah area of Iraq with a group of his soldiers, Cobban suffered soft tissue injuries to his right side and to his extremities when a bomb exploded about 2 feet from where he stood. He also suffered severe hearing damage to his right ear and moderate damage to the left ear in the blast that killed one of his soldiers and injured seven others.

He was immediately flown to a military hospital in Iraq, where he underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his right leg and arm, and from there was flown to Germany, where he had more surgery to remove the tissue destroyed by the blast.

On Christmas Eve, five days after the incident, Cobban arrived at his home base in Fort Lewis, Wash., where he spent 26 days in Madigan Army Medical Center healing and having skin grafts to his right arm. Doctors also reconstructed his right eardrum, but he must undergo restorative surgery to his left ear.

The chaplain was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge and is serving as the interim training chaplain at the I Corps chaplain's office on base. This summer, he and his family will be transferred to South Korea, his wife's native country, for a two-year tour of duty.

Temple Terrace Mayor Joe Affronti presented Cobban with a letter of appreciation from Crist for his patriotism and bravery.

Digna Alvarez, regional director for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Aileen Rodriguez, regional director for U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., read the legislators' letters of thanks to Cobban for the sacrifices he has made to protect our nation.

Capt. James Danner, Centcom's Navy command chaplain, stressed the importance of chaplains in combat zones.

"There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole," said Danner, who then presented Cobban with a ball cap containing the Purple Heart insignia. "Keep it in your car in case you find your foot a little bit heavy. You can pull out your hat if you get pulled over because a lot of policemen are ex-military people."

Following all the accolades, Cobban said he was appreciative but unworthy of such a tribute.

"When I look around the room at all the others who have served, I think they deserve our thanks. Also the ones who give their lives are the ones who need to be honored all the more," he said. "For me, it was just a matter of doing what I was supposed to be doing."

Members of his family, Cobban said, suffered much more than he did by not being told the details of his injuries when they received a call from a woman at an Army headquarters.

"I usually go to early morning service, and on that morning, as I was driving home from church, I got a call on my cell phone from my son telling me the Army called. I knew right then something was terribly wrong with my husband," Su said. "Then the woman called me and said he'd been severely injured. I was devastated."

It wasn't until Cobban called after his surgery in Germany that she knew he had not suffered brain damage or was not close to death, thoughts she had wrestled with over and over again until hearing his voice.

"It's a great privilege to be here tonight to do what we do best in the gratitude business," said Lefavor, who also thanked Cobban for his valuable service to others.

Also, in appreciation for their partnering with Lefavor in Project Gratitude and other programs that support military men and women, Lefavor presented several in the crowd with Presidential Volunteer Service Award pins, compliments of President George Bush. Temple Terrace residents Affronti, Ralph Lupton, Rod Jurado and Mel Jurado were among the recipients.