Recruit’s Death Ruled Accidental : Boxing Matches Stopped for Good by Marine Corps

The death of a Marine recruit who collapsed during an informal boxing match last month was accidental, and no one will be disciplined for allowing the 18-year-old to fight despite his history of head injuries and nearsightedness, the Marines Corps announced Friday.

But after a six-week investigation of Pvt. Paul Resce Jr.’s death, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot has decided to permanently halt the bouts traditionally held near the end of recruits’ 11-week training program, Maj. Jerry Broeckert said.

Lt. Col. Kenneth Sandstrom’s 1,241-page report on the incident was completed Thursday but not released to the public. Broeckert declined to say whether Sandstrom accused anyone of negligence in Resce’s death from injuries he suffered after taking a blow to the head in the third round of the boxing match Aug. 2.

But Broeckert said that “if we knew then what we know now about Pvt. Resce’s medical history, he would not (have been) allowed to box.”

Allowed to Fight

The Marines said Aug. 20 that Resce was allowed to fight despite the fact that he suffered concussions during two high school football games in October, 1986, and wore glasses to correct nearsightedness--two conditions specifically mentioned in the boxing rules as reasons to exclude Marines from the bouts.

But Resce’s superiors were apparently unaware about the head injuries because they never checked medical records on file at the recruit depot that noted the concussions, and Resce apparently did not mention them during a pre-fight safety conference, Broeckert said.

Resce’s father, Paul Resce Sr., said Friday of the decision not to discipline supervisors of the bouts: “I think they’re wrong. If I’m at work and I screw up my job, I pay for it. I get suspended or fired or something.

“My feeling is they are covering up for each other . . . they’re protecting each other,” Resce said.

Resce’s sister, Rosie Britton of Lubbock, Tex., said the decision to cancel the bouts shows that “obviously it shouldn’t have been a part of the program. And it took something as drastic as the life of one of those boys, who happens to be my brother, to stop it.”

Decision on Suit Delayed

Britton said she believes that her father should file suit against the Marine Corps, but Resce said he is delaying such a decision until he reads the investigation report next week. At his request, U.S. Rep Jack Davis, R-Ill., is also investigating the death.

“Nothing is ever going to change. My brother’s dead,” said Britton, who is married to an active-duty Marine. “No matter what we do or who we blame, he still is going to be dead. But from what they’re saying, someone or some system was at fault in letting him (box).”

The younger Resce collapsed after taking a blow to the head in the third round of the Aug. 2 fight and succumbed five days later to a subdural hematoma at Navy Hospital in Balboa Park. Senior Marine officers have called the bouts heavily supervised, noting that no man is permitted more than a 10-pound weight advantage and that all participants wear protective headgear.

Previous head injuries contribute to the likelihood of subsequent brain damage, said Dr. Larry Marshall, professor of neurological surgery at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest. But in the case of a subdural hematoma--a blood clot that puts pressure on the brain--it is difficult to determine whether a previous head injury was a contributing factor without knowing the severity of the earlier injuries, Marshall said.

Suggestions to Be Accepted

Maj. Gen. Donald J. Fulham, commanding general of the base, will accept recommendations from other officers on ways to replace the bouts, which were designed to instill individual confidence and unit pride in young Marine recruits, Broeckert said. They could include field events, such as tugs-of-war and footraces that are already part of the recruit training.

“The general does not believe that the benefits gained by having a small number of recruits actually engage in boxing are sufficient to warrant a continuation of the program,” Broeckert said. “He would continue the program if sufficient training time was available to permit all recruits to participate in a supervised boxing group,” but the length of the training program does not permit it, Broeckert said.

Sandstrom’s investigation also contains three recommendations concerning “Department of Defense medical pre-screening and physical examination procedures,” which Broeckert refused to detail until they are reviewed by Marine officials responsible for them.

But information released Friday indicates that those recommendations concern better notification of the recruit depots when Marines with medical problems--such as head injuries--are accepted into the Marine Corps.

Sandstrom’s report is being forwarded to the commandant of the Marine Corps, General A.M. Gray, who could take additional action, Broeckert said.