‘Their stories go with them'

Updated at 10:50 a.m.

Now retired Gunnery Sgt. Rose Noel was riding her bicycle to the armory at Al Asad Airfield in Iraq on a typical August 2005 morning when a rocket hit nearby and she was struck in the face with shrapnel.

“I wasn’t knocked off my bike and thought I’d just been hit by debris until I felt warm dampness of blood on my neck,” she said.

Noel was airlifted to a field hospital at Balad Airbase north of Baghdad. Millitary officials determined she had been struck with a 1½-inch piece of shrapnel from an indirect fired rocket.

She refused to be returned home and was back with her unit within weeks.

A true Devil Dog, she calls it “a funny story.”

Noel is the first female Marine gunnery sergeant to be awarded a Purple Heart.

She told her story to a crowd of young attentive Marines, passing shoppers and other veterans during Saturday’s “Salute Veterans” at Jacksonville Mall.

The 2nd annual event, hosted by The Talk Station and the mall, allows veterans to share their experiences — funny, sad and serious.

Anastasia Paszkiewicz, the mall’s marketing director, said the stories veterans have to tell are too important to not be heard.

“When they pass on their stories go with them,” she said. “This is a chance for them to share their experiences with others who care.”

And a lot of people were interested. The event held at the JC Penney entrance to the mall was packed from 1 to 4 p.m.

“It is bigger this year, and we were able to include all the veteran organizations,” said Vince Coglianese, station manager at WTKF. “We hope to see it grow every year.”

Area veteran organizations from Rolling Thunder to Disabled America Veterans were set up at booths to answer questions and offer information.

In between the round table storytelling, Camp Lejeune’s Brewster Middle School played patriotic music.

“They put on a phenomenal performance for us,” Coglianese said.

Noel, who is having a house built at Mimosa Bay in Sneads Ferry, told The Daily News she appreciates the opportunity to join other veterans in telling their stories. Veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam shared their experiences with the crowd.

Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456 or lkay@freedomenc.com. Read his blog here.