In a brief ceremony Friday, Oct. 28 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 11 Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Martin Beck, awarded Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class John Coulter the Purple Heart. Coulter received a gunshot to the leg while responding to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Fallujah, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Navy EOD technicians are experts in detecting, identifying, rendering safe and disposing of all types of explosives and explosive ordnance that pose a hazard to personnel or property on land or under water. Navy EOD detachments are relied upon in the Global War on Terror to dispose of IED’s, which threaten coalition forces and civilians.

Coulter was wounded March 15, 2005 while deployed with EODMU 11 Detachment Seven after his team had spent the day responding to several IED’s. Upon reaching the scene of the last call, Coulter and his partner, Operations Specialist 2nd Class Justin Jewett came under attack. Jewett managed to reach cover, but Coulter was shot in the leg before he could get out of the open.

“I knew I had to get behind the truck, but my leg just wouldn’t work,” said Coulter.

That is when Jewett pulled his partner to safety and immediately began first aid. Jewett stayed with Coulter after the medic reached the scene and all the way to the field hospital.

Before going into surgery, Coulter was able to make a call back home to his wife Brandy to tell her that he was shot, but was OK.

“I was so glad that he got to call and tell me before the command called me, I don’t know what I would have done then,” said Brandy.

Although he could have opted to return home after his ordeal, Coulter was determined to complete the remainder of the deployment with his team. He returned to the team after only three weeks, faster than even his doctors had expected.

“The fact that he turned it around and was back up to us at almost a hundred percent within a three-week time frame was pretty amazing,” said Senior Chief Quartermaster (EOD) Robert Zimmerman, Det. Seven leading chief petty officer. “He personally expedited his own recovery faster than what was expected. His criteria for release was met earlier than what the doctors imagined it would be and that’s not just a testimony to him, but also the advances we’ve made in field medicine.”

Coulter’s quick return inspired not only his fellow team members, but also the Soldiers and Marines that made up the Special Forces group that Det. Seven was a part of.

“Within our compound all three services were a real tight-knit group, everybody knew John’s injuries and were all waiting for him to return,” said Zimmerman. “When he did, it was a huge boost for morale for everybody to see him come back.”

Now back on Whidbey Island, the support of the tight-knit EOD community was apparent near the end of Coulter’s pinning ceremony when the right words just couldn’t be found until a loud “Hoo-Yah” began with a single shipmate and reverberated through the ranks and each one came forward to show Coulter their support and appreciation for his commitment to duty.