Fulfilling a Marine’s dream

He always wanted to be a firefighter. He dreamed about it as a child, and planned on fighting fires after he completed his military service. But the war in Afghanistan put an end to the dream.

Recently, however, local firefighters made his wish come true: Wounded warrior and recently discharged Marine Lance Cpl. Marcus Dandrea was made an honorary member of the Lynbrook Fire Department. Marcus, who is still in rehabilitation at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., lost both of his legs when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011.

Members of the Lynbrook F.D., who are part of Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior, met Dandrea three years ago, when the department sent a Disabled American Veterans bus to Bethesda to bring injured military personnel to Lynbrook for the Community Concert for the Troops, a street concert and fundraiser sponsored by NCFF-OWW. Dandrea was one of them, and he and the Lynbrook firefighters hit it off. He has come to Lynbrook from Bethesda each September since then for the annual concert.

Members of the department have taken Dandrea to see the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center. And each December, when they join other NCFF-OWW members and travel to Bethesda to visit those being treated and rehabilitated at Walter Reed, they meet with Dandrea and his wife, Victoria — also a former Marine — bring presents for the couple’s three children and take the family out to dinner.

Wounded in the war

Dandrea was injured while on patrol on a hilltop in Afghanistan on Feb. 25, 2011. His suffered life-threatening wounds, but a Navy corpsman who was part of his unit worked to save his life. That corpsman, Micah Ambrose — who, as it happens, is from Floral Park — stayed by Dandrea’s side and comforted him for over an hour while they waited for a helicopter to take them off the mountain. Ambrose is now studying at Stony Brook University.

Two years ago, Lynbrook firefighters brought Dandrea and Ambrose together at the Wounded Warrior concert. And it’s no coincidence that one of Dandrea’s children is named Micah.