Wounded Marine returns home to Diamond

DIAMOND — A Diamond Marine wounded in Afghanistan is back in Illinois, but on Wednesday, it was unclear for how much longer that would be.

Joe Trippiedi, vice president and co-founder of Operation: MOMS Cookies, has acted as a spokesman for the family of Cpl. Joe Singer, who was injured by a rocket-propelled grenade on July 12. Trippiedi and his wife, Debbie, have been in contact with Singer’s mother, Jennifer Cherveny, in the weeks following the attack and helped to coordinate a fund to support the family through the Morris Community Credit Union.

Trippiedi said Singer was cleared from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., last week and brought home to continue his healing, but medical complications including pneumonia and a collapsed lung sent him back to the hospital less than a day after he arrived. He’s since been in Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

“He’s kind of been in limbo right now,” Trippiedi said. “They might send him back to Bethesda.”

Trippiedi said Singer was released too early from care there and, in addition to the pneumonia and his lung, Singer has also been fighting an infection and doctors have had a difficult time finding the right antibiotics to treat it.

Kinsman resident Melissa Dunning, a family friend who has also been in contact with Cherveny, said plans were in the works Wednesday to transfer the family to Maryland. She said doctors believe the infection was in Singer’s bloodstream.

“It’s a setback, but to me it’s a positive setback because they’ve got a diagnosis,” Dunning said.

In the weeks following Singer’s injury, Dunning created the Prayers for Joe Facebook page, which has delivered updates from Cherveny to followers.

She’s currently organizing two fundraisers to add to the Cpl. Joe Singer Fund — a spaghetti dinner that will be held Aug. 25 in Diamond and the sale of tickets to the Joliet Slammers’ last home game, where half the ticket sales will go to the fund.

“I’m just a friend of the family and I wanted to help out,” she said, figuring she could start with the spaghetti dinner.

The dinner will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at Cherveny’s employer, The Chrome Rack, which is located at 3002 E. Division St., Diamond. The dinner, which includes spaghetti, bread, pasta salad, dessert and a drink, is $8 per person for attendees ages 13 and up. Children 12 and under will eat for free. Carry-out orders are available.

Dunning said all the proceeds from the dinner will go to the fund. She said the dinner is taking place the same weekend as Diamond Days, and there will also be a booth set up there selling bracelets.

For the Slammers game, Dunning said tickets are $10 for the 6:05 p.m. game Sunday, Aug. 26, in Joliet, with $5 for every ticket sold going to the fund. Tickets are on sale at the Coal City Courant, 271 S. Broadway, Coal City; Movie Zone, 2585 E. Division Street, Diamond; The Chrome Rack; and Southern Exposure Tanning, 294 S. Front Street, Braidwood.

Anyone seeking more information on the fundraisers can contact Dunning at (815) 671-2084 or Rachael Anderson at (815) 584-7790.

Dunning said Singer had wanted to be in town for the spaghetti dinner, but that is now uncertain. 
"A lot of it's going to depend on medically how he is," she said.

Still, she gave him the benefit of the doubt on his recovery.

“He’s a fighter. I would not put anything past him,” Dunning said. “I’m hoping he’s able to come to the benefit.”

Both Dunning and Trippiedi commented on community support, noting area residents have been generous in their response to the family’s needs.

“She (Cherveny) has awesome support from her community, it’s been unbelievable. It’s been very moving to her,” she said. “When she got back from Germany, she could barely speak, she was so moved.”

In addition to the numerous fundraisers and donations that have poured in, Trippiedi said a way citizens can help is to keep Singer in their thoughts and prayers.

“Keep Joe in your prayers, so he can get back on his feet and get back on with his life,” he said.