Ring more true to Marine than finger

Marisa O’Neil

David and Devann Battle, both 19, didn’t even have time for a

honeymoon before he had to ship out with his Marine Corps unit to

Iraq in June.

Now the Ontario couple are enjoying a luxurious vacation at the

Four Seasons Hotel -- free of charge -- and other outpourings of

support from people throughout the country, who were touched by their

story.

Lance Cpl. David Battle received national media attention because

he chose to lose his ring finger rather than let doctors cut off his

wedding ring after he was injured while fighting in Fallouja.

“When I was laying in bed saying, ‘Don’t cut my ring off,’ I

didn’t know this would be the result,” David Battle recalled.

The Marine was shot twice in the leg during a firefight and then

struck in the hand with shrapnel from a grenade, he said.

His wedding ring was flattened and would have to be cut off to

save his finger, doctors told him.

“To me, any ring or diamond is just a piece of metal or a jewel,”

he said.

“But that’s all I had of my wife when I was out there. If my wife

gave me something that came out of a Cracker Jack box, I wouldn’t

have given it up.”

He opted to save the ring but not his finger. Yet, ultimately, in

the fog of war, both were lost.

Since their story was reported, people from all over the country

have offered their support, and David Battle even got a new ring

donated by a jeweler.

Local business owner Bobby Atkins, who runs a limousine service,

was among those touched by the story.

First he gave them a cash donation to help.

Then he learned that David Battle lost his cellphone in Iraq, and

his wife couldn’t contact him when he got back.

So Atkins took the couple to get a phone and a new nationwide

plan, so they can talk when the lance corporal reports back to his

base in Hawaii next month.

What they really needed, Atkins decided, was a full-blown

honeymoon, so he sent e-mails to everyone he could think of and got a

flood of support and donations. He also arranged three nights at the

Four Seasons in Newport Beach.

“If you ever wanted a kid who represented our country, he’s it,”

Atkins said.

“He hasn’t said one bad thing about his situation.”

David Battle said he’s been overwhelmed with the support he’s

received. But he urged people to remember the other Marines in his

unit -- 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines.

“This has been an experience me and my wife would never have

gotten, to stay at the Four Seasons at 19,” David Battle said.

Atkins said he’s making sure they take advantage of the time

together.

“I’m just trying to give them a nice little honeymoon,” he said.

“I told them they had to have breakfast in bed at least once.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.