The Daily Record
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Dunn Man Hurt In Iraq
By ROBERT NcNEILL Of The Record Staff
Charles Mason Poe, a member of the Dunn Fire Department and U.S. Marines
Reserves, was wounded by an explosion during hostile fire in Iraq Tuesday. He is
listed in stable condition and awaiting evacuation to Germany from the 31st
Combat Support Hospital.
According to his father, Joe Poe, who is a retired Army veteran, the incident
took place at 8:50 in the morning, Iraqi time. The soldier and his entire crew
were hit.
“The explosion was a controlled detonation,” Mr. Poe said. “In other words, it
was not an accident. His crew never knew anything was coming.”
Mr. Poe and his wife Marilyn were informed of the incident last night. Sgt. Poe
suffered fractures to both legs and head trauma.
Mr. Poe said the swelling on his son’s brain has gone down. Now Sgt. Poe will be
sent to Germany for recovery. “We know he will be in the hospital for a while,”
Mr. Poe said.
His mother, Marilyn, asked this morning for the community’s prayers. “I know
what the power of prayer can do,” she said.
Triton Grad
Sgt. Poe is a 1999 Triton High graduate and joined the Dunn Fire Department at
age 16 as a junior volunteer firefighter in November 1996.
After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Marines and left after four
years. He received several awards while in service including the Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal, four certificates of commendation, two letters of
appreciation from generals, two NATO medals, four Meritorious Masts, one Navy
Unit Commendation, and Armed Forces Reserve Medal, two Sea Service Deployment
ribbons, a National Defense Service Medal and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.
Upon his return to Dunn, he resumed his work as a firefighter, earning
firefighter level II and emergency technician certifications. He was called back
to active military duty in January as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Proud Of Son
Mr. Poe, disabled now and suffering from Gulf War Syndrome, said his son truly
exemplifies true citizenship in all he does. “I was certainly glad to see that
the 82nd Airborne is coming back home. I am sure the military families missed
them,” Mr. Poe said.
“But this is my son. I am his father. But I am also his brother. “Mason has
always wanted to help other people. That’s why he wanted to become a
firefighter.
“When my son came home, he wasn’t here 5 minutes before he wanted to get his
pager (given to firefighters to alert them to calls),” Mr. Poe said. “That’s
what it is to be a real American.”
Sgt. Poe went full-time with the fire department in June last year and was named
Outstanding Young Firefighter of 2003 by the Dunn Jaycees.
Dunn Fire Chief Austin Tew said he and Sgt. Poe had discussed his deployment and
the soldier was prepared to fulfill his duty.
“He was like everybody else, he was hoping he wouldn’t get called back,” Chief
Tew said. “But he did, and that was something he understood.”
Chief Tew said Sgt. Poe was developing a fire safety clown character to work
with kids at Harnett Primary School and in day cares when he was activated.
Sgt. Poe’s military experience helps him in his fire fighting duties, the chief
said. “He’s always been what I’d call a self-disciplined person, but it gives
him more of that,” Chief Tew said of Sgt. Poe’s time in the Marines. “I feel
like he’s as dedicated to his Marine job as he is here as a firefighter,
volunteer and paid.”
Chief Tew said he spent some time with the Poe family Wednesday night and
gathered his firefighters together to share the news.
“It was a real somber feeling,” he said of the gathering. “It’s different when
you see it on the news and you hear about it and it’s a marine or a soldier, but
when it lands at your front door it’s different.”
Sgt. Poe has a brother, Sgt. Joseph Poe, who is also a member of the U.S.
Marines Reserves and stationed in Massachusetts. The Poe family suffered another
blow when their daughter, Rachel Poe, was injured during a hit-and-run accident
in Baltimore, Md., in July 2002 and underwent surgery. The couple has a fourth
child, Donna.
— Gregory Phillips contributed to this article.
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