The legacy of one fallen Soldier continues in the Army’s next generation of medical providers completing their clinical rotations at a training site at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Captain Sean P. Grimes Physician Assistant Training Center, at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, is a Phase II site of the Interservice Physician Assistant Program, and named for the Army’s first physician assistant killed in action.
Capt. Sean P. Grimes served as a physician assistant deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Infantry Division. On March 4, 2005, Grimes and three members of his unit; Sgt. 1st Class Donald W. Eacho, Cpl. Stephen M. McGowan, and Spc. Wade Michael Twyman, were killed when an improvised explosive device exploded near their vehicle in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
Known for his dedication and commitment caring for Soldiers as a physician assistant in the Army’s Medical Specialist Corps, the Interservice Physician Assistant Phase II training site at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital on Fort Campbell, Kentucky was formally named in his memory in 2011.
Transcript
We have a classroom that’s solely dedicated for the P.A. Students that are going through the inter service physician assistant program that Blanchfield Army community Hospital. The classroom was dedicated by the family of Captain Shawn grimes. Captain Shawn grimes was a physician assistant who died March 4, 2005, during Operation Iraqi freedom when an improvised explosive device detonated nearest patrol in Ramadi Iraq mm hmm. Captain grimes started out as a medic in the army reserves. At that point he knew he was very fond of healthcare and he went back to school to get a degree for nursing. Um At that point he came on to active duty as a nurse and was stationed in Germany where he, it was an E.R. Nurse within launch dual regional Medical center. At that point he decided that he wanted to broaden his abilities in healthcare and get back to kind of the line mentality. And so he went back and applied for a seat at the inter service physician assistant program. He got accepted and he successfully made it through my pap graduated where he became a P. A. He um completed what his desire was was to get back to a line unit to provide not only the health care to the soldiers but also be with the medics that have a great impact at point of injury care. There was a lot of combat trauma that they would experience and that was on a daily basis. He interacted with so many individuals that were in need of healthcare because of either combat trauma or uh just the effects of combat that he helped countless people we set up to recognize captain grimes through memorials such as pictures, plaques, all the articles that we have posted on the wall. So that that way it’s a constant reminder for us. He was very dedicated to his service in the military, very dedicated to the country, mm hmm.