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Injury doesn't slow down Crabtree
(by Linda Dillman, staff writer - December 28, 2009)
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| Jason Kennedy (with the moustache) and Nick Wilson who served with John Crabtree in Iraq. |
What is the last thing you would see if you lost your vision tomorrow?
For Canal Winchester Navy veteran John Crabtree, that question was answered on Feb. 12, 2006 on a sandy plain in Iraq when a sophisticated booby trap wired to an explosive device blew up, killing a fellow soldier and robbing him of his sight.
Trained in explosive ordinance disposal, Crabtree was overseas to help set up a robot repair facility, but would often go out on missions as an extra helping hand.
Beginnings
In 1988, Crabtree's grandmother, Alice (Hoy) Smith, now 92, motivated the then rudderless Canal Winchester High School graduate to join the Navy.
"I graduated in 1986," said Crabtree. "We were the 100th graduating class from Canal Winchester. Many of my relatives graduated from school here, including my great-great grandmother, who graduated from Canal Winchester in the 19th century. My grandma Alice still lives on the family homestead and we had a little chat after high school."
The talk turned into a career that took Crabtree from boot camp as a dispersing clerk in Great Lakes, Ill. to Florida for dive school and Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) training.
He worked in the Marine Mammals system, with dolphins used as members of an underwater team, and onboard ships in foreign lands.
"I loved my job," continued Crabtree. "I didn't know if I was going to be out blowing up something, diving, or wearing a suit as part of a Secret Service detail. I worked on a number of downed aircraft including a helicopter and a TWA aircraft.
"My detachment was in Turkey in 2000 training with Turkish EOD. We met in a coffee shop and were watching the news when we saw what happened to the USS Cole. We were enraged. From that point on, security tightened and EOD was forward deployed."
Crabtree later spent time in Egypt, as a member of the Secret Service team during the winter Olympics, searching for explosives on oil platforms and terminals in Kuwait, and return missions in Iraq.
Iraq
Crabtree's life changed on a Sunday morning.
"Jason came in, said they had a call, and asked if I wanted to go with them," said Crabtree. "It ended up being an elaborate booby trap. We got there, searched the area, and cleared the area around a hoax shell. We saw guide wires coming out of the nose and followed them into a farm field. I went down range with Nick (Wilson), but we didn't see anything. Foot patrols were walking by. Then we turned a corner and saw a white box wrapped in clear plastic and electrical tape.
"Nick walked up on the box, and when he crouched down, it popped (blew up). I screamed and knew right away I wouldn't see again. My face was instantly filled with dirt and debris. My ears were rushing - it was a surreal moment.
"I yelled out to Nick, but I knew he wouldn't answer. I dropped to my knees and started praying, not for myself, but for other people."
Starting over
After Crabtree was taken to safety, he was told Wilson died in the explosion. Crabtree first went to a combat field hospital and didn't fully wake up until he was in a military hospital in Bethesda, Md. He recovered at Bethesda for a month and a half before transferring to a blind rehabilitation center.
"I had in 18 years and spent the next two years working with the Wounded Warrior program before retiring and moving back here," said Crabtree. "I bought this house (his home in Canal Winchester) sight unseen, so to speak."
Drawing on his military training, he learned to live in a sightless world.
"I used techniques I learned in blind rehab and from my years in the Navy, which honed my senses. I used my skills in mapping, identifying, and locating - it's like being on a permanent dive - plus 38 years of sight. We (he married his wife Marshell in March 2007) moved here in April 2008."
Columbus Street neighbor Carol Note said the most impressive thing about Crabtree is his willingness to do anything.
"He does yard work, having almost single-handedly built a rock garden on a hill in front of his house," commented Note. "He walks all over town and is a friend to all he meets. I am so impressed with his attitude after such a devastating injury in service to his country. His wife is also retired Navy."
Refusing to bow to a disability, Crabtree continues to work with the Navy's Safe Harbor program and likes to ski the snowy slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho.
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