San Diego Marine gets major USO honor

Heroic achievement is part of the job description for all Marines, whether it’s risking life and limb in combat, long separations from home or harsh working conditions.

But each year, the USO recognizes only one Marine of the Year, someone to signify the achievement of all and the distinction of few.

This year’s Marine honoree for the USO, a nonprofit organization that provides support services to troops, hails from San Diego and the Marine recruit depot here. Staff Sgt. Joseph Bednarik is closing out a tour at the boot camp, where he serves on staff with the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion.

When he worked as a drill instructor making Marines — a famously grueling billet — Bednarik still carved out time to volunteer as a youth sports coach.

And when his truck was blasted by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Bednarik ignored his serious wounds to care for his dying assistant driver.

For his service to the country, the USO spotlighted Bednarik and fellow honorees from the other branches of the armed forces during a gala ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Vice President Joe Biden, whose late son served in the military, hosted a reception for them at his home the night before in support of the administration’s Joining Forces initiative. Bednarik also got to take his wife and children on a three-day tour of the city, their first, with stops at Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.

“As a member of the greatest nation in the world that is defended by some of the greatest young men and women humanity has to offer … thank you, not for standing in our shadow but for standing by our side and taking care of us and our families when it’s most important,” said the gala’s keynote speaker, Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The USO honor is humbling, said Bednarik, 30, from Youngstown, Ohio. “There’s a lot of Marines out there who are doing just as good as I am. They deserve this just as much. I’m just fortunate to have a supportive command that recommended me.”

He didn’t become a Marine to get awards, he added. “It’s what I like to do, to give back to the community. That’s the most important thing for us — sustaining the legacy and the transformation of the Marines and giving back to the community that is doing so much for us.”

Bednarik coaches soccer and T-ball for the team of his 7-year-old daughter, Breanna, and a younger age group, which puts him on the field four nights a week plus weekends. He also volunteers at Breanna’s school and is a pack parent for her Girl Scout troop.

Bednarik played football and wrestled in high school, but he was happy to pitch in when coaches in other sports were needed.

“I like to volunteer with the young kids so I can develop their teamwork, their basic skills,” he said.

It’s a bit like being a drill instructor. Bednarik deployed for combat three times, but the motor transport operations chief is more focused on helping young men along the disciplined path to maturity and professionalism that transformed him nearly 12 years ago.

“If I make them a better man, the Marine stuff will follow. I need to help them become adults who make better decisions. I help instill honor, courage and commitment, the very baseline of being a Marine.”

Bednarik enlisted when he was 18, hoping to stay on the right track in life by joining what he considered to be the most challenging of the services.

His vehicle hit a daisy chain of explosives in 2005 during a supply mission outside of Fallujah, Iraq. Bednarik was cut by shrapnel in his leg. His eardrums were ruptured, his shoulder torn and his collarbone broken.

Still, he focused on giving first-aid to another Marine wounded in the attack, Lance Cpl. Jonathan Smith. Ultimately, Smith became one of several Marines he knew who died at war.

“Though badly wounded, (Bednarik) dragged another severely injured Marine from the vehicle, triaged his injuries and performed CPR while engaging the enemy,” the USO said in its recognition summary. Bednarik received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Valor Device, the Purple Heart and a Combat Action Ribbon with a gold star.

“I didn’t do anything any other Marine wouldn’t have done. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he recalled.

His next two deployments to Afghanistan were eventful as well. “I got blown up a couple more times,” he said, chuckling.

Bednarik is waiting for orders to his next assignment, which he hopes will be on the East Coast — closer to his mother, who cares for his autistic brother and his grandfather suffering from cancer.

He hopes to continue in uniform for at least 20 years. “The Marine Corps is not a career. It’s a lifestyle,” he said. “I like the brotherhood.”

The USO charity relies on more than 30,000 volunteers around the world to help service members stay connected to home when they’re far away from loved ones.

“Connection forms the very DNA of this organization,” J.D. Crouch II, USO president and chief executive, said at the gala.

“A central challenge of military life is dealing with the separation that comes with service. The USO is that vital bridge back to family, home and country —connecting our troops, no matter where, or how long or under what conditions they serve,” Crouch said.