Battle-scarred Pinoy corpsman becomes US Marine officer
For Marine 2nd Lt. Jefferson Talicuran, it was the fulfillment of his “American dream.”
On May 23, 2014, Talicuran, who immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 2005, was among the 1,000 who graduated from the Naval Academy to become an officer of the US Marines.
In a press release by the academy, the 25-year-old Talicuran said working with the Marines was the “best thing that happened” to him. This, despite the incident in 2008 that almost cost him his life.
Before entering the Naval Academy four years ago, Talicuran was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, to Sangin, Afghanistan, where he was hit by an improvised explosive device attached to a bicycle.
Narrating the incident to the Navy Times, Talicuran said: “I was probably the fourth person to pass the bicycle and by the time I passed it, when I was about six feet away from it, it exploded. We never thought that a bicycle could be used as an IED.”
The incident resulted in a scar on his left arm — and a Purple Heart medal and Combat Action Ribbon. Though he was set to be discharged for his injuries, his persistence restored him to full-duty medical status, allowing him to apply to the Naval Academy.
“I guess you just have to realize that there are things that are out of your control, there are things that are in your control; things that are in my control are to move on," Talicuran told the Navy Times.
He entered the Naval Academy in 2010 at the age of 22, older than those in his plebe year. Though he managed to deal with the physical aspect of his training, the academic requirements posed a tougher challenge.
“I graduated [high school] in 2006 and then I came here in 2010, so that’s a while to be out of school. I wished I went through preparatory school, because that would’ve helped me in academics,” he said.—Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
On May 23, 2014, Talicuran, who immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 2005, was among the 1,000 who graduated from the Naval Academy to become an officer of the US Marines.
Marine 2nd Lt. Jefferson Talicuran. Photo from the Navy Times
Before entering the Naval Academy four years ago, Talicuran was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, to Sangin, Afghanistan, where he was hit by an improvised explosive device attached to a bicycle.
Narrating the incident to the Navy Times, Talicuran said: “I was probably the fourth person to pass the bicycle and by the time I passed it, when I was about six feet away from it, it exploded. We never thought that a bicycle could be used as an IED.”
The incident resulted in a scar on his left arm — and a Purple Heart medal and Combat Action Ribbon. Though he was set to be discharged for his injuries, his persistence restored him to full-duty medical status, allowing him to apply to the Naval Academy.
“I guess you just have to realize that there are things that are out of your control, there are things that are in your control; things that are in my control are to move on," Talicuran told the Navy Times.
He entered the Naval Academy in 2010 at the age of 22, older than those in his plebe year. Though he managed to deal with the physical aspect of his training, the academic requirements posed a tougher challenge.
“I graduated [high school] in 2006 and then I came here in 2010, so that’s a while to be out of school. I wished I went through preparatory school, because that would’ve helped me in academics,” he said.—Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News
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