PARKMAN – A sailor with ties to Parkman is fighting for his life after being severely wounded earlier this month during an attack in Iraq.

Peter Herrick, 37 – one of 38 servicemen and women involved in a May 2 attack in Fallujah – is hospitalized at the naval hospital in Bethesda, Md.

Herrick, of Florida, is the son of Clinton Herrick, formerly of Parkman. The sailor has numerous relatives who live in the Penquis region.

Herrick’s injuries include the loss of a leg and shrapnel wounds to his right leg, his neck and lungs, his wife, Diana Herrick, said Thursday in a telephone interview from the hospital.

She said her husband is dependent on a ventilator. The shrapnel that went into his neck and the trauma from it have paralyzed the father of two.

Despite his grave condition, Diana Herrick said her husband is upbeat and brave.

“He’s actually smiling and he has a little sense of humor,” she said, adding that his brain is uninjured.

Life became a little better for her husband, Diana Herrick said, when doctors performed a tracheotomy for his ventilator and removed the tube from his throat earlier this week. Before that, his only means of communication was by blinking his eyes, whereas now he can move his lips, she said.

“He’s doing better than they thought he would,” Diana Herrick said, adding that her husband has a very deep and strong faith. “He’s kind of an inspiration to the rest of us.”

Although details of the May 2 attack are sketchy, Diana Herrick said her husband and other servicemen had returned from a convoy and were lined up waiting for orders when they hit with mortar fire. Of the 38 injured in the attack, five have died, she said.

Like several of his relatives, Peter Herrick is a finish carpenter in his civilian life in Fort White, Fla. In Iraq, he was behind a .50-caliber gun on a Humvee.

Even though he is paralyzed, Herrick still wishes he could return and help his comrades, his wife said. He faults no one for his injuries, Diana Herrick said, and he volunteered for the service.

His decision to enter the Navy Reserves came two months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “It was always something he had wanted to do,” she said, and his trip to Iraq was his first deployment overseas.

Since Herrick’s return to American soil, his wife has remained by his side. Their children, Shayla, 18, and Drew, 14, visit when they can.

Herrick’s wife praised the support the family has received from family, friends and strangers.

In their hometown, residents have started a prayer chain for her husband’s recovery, she said. In addition, the Air Force Thunderbirds dedicated a performance at a Lake City Air Show a couple of weeks ago in his honor, she said.

The support has been wonderful, Diana Herrick said.