Seriously injured Southland Marine trying to come home
Just over a week ago, a 28-year-old Garden Grove Marine veteran was sitting in a Humvee in Ukraine when what was likely an enemy Russian rocket struck the vehicle.
Giovanni Roman had been in the country since December to work as a volunteer combat medic alongside the Ukrainians, said Scott Caceres, his former colleague and friend. Roman survived the impact but had major injuries, according to Caceres, including extensive head trauma and the loss of his right eye.
Roman has undergone one surgery but faces poorquality medical care, Caceres said. The medic sits at a Ukrainian hospital awaiting care while Caceres and others are scrambling to get him home.
Brenda Gutierrez, Roman's cousin, said late Wednesday he was feeling significant pain from “head to toe.” The updates have been coming via Roman's brother, who traveled to Ukraine and is communicating with family in Santa Ana.
Gutierrez said Roman's return home is impeded by the costs associated with specialized medical transport. Because of the severity of his injuries, Roman cannot travel on a commercial flight. She said family and friends are raising money on Go Fund Me to pay for the trip, as well as the additional expenses associated with acute and long-term care.
Caceres, a Santa Ana police officer, said he's known Roman for nearly a decade and was his emergency contact while in Ukraine.
“I met Giovanni seven years ago and he convinced me to join the Marine Corps,” he said. We served in Japan together for a year.”
After the Marines, Roman, who was born and raised in Santa Ana, worked as an emergency room technician at local hospitals, including Kaiser Permanente in Irvine
and St. Jude.
Roman had recently joined the U.S. Navy on contract when Russia’s war on Ukraine began and ultimately decided to leave the Navy to serve as a volunteer in the embattled country, Caceres said. Before arriving in December, Roman made a monthlong trip in mid-2022, also serving as a combat medic.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Roman got involved as a combat medic, although the Ukranian government has been actively recruiting volunteers. In February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the International Legion of Defence for Ukraine, which consists of “foreign citizens wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupants and fight for global security,” according to its website. Combat experience is required to join.
As of Thursday, 1,016 Americans were working under the Legion and leads in foreign volunteer numbers, according to data on its website.
The U.S. State Department has formally advised Americans against traveling to Ukraine.
Once home, Roman aspires to be a firefighter or policeman, Caceres said.