A Navy Doctor’s Story of Duty and Compassion
Published July 4, 2026 · By Dr. Robert J. Troell, Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Robert J. Troell, MD, FACS
Serving Our Country, Caring for Our Patients
Today is July 4th. It is America's 250th birthday. God bless America! The whole country is celebrating this big day, called the semiquincentennial. This is the 250-year mark since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Most of the men who signed the Declaration did not sign it that day. Most signed it a month later, on August 2, 1776. One signer, Thomas McKean, did not sign until January 1777, six months later.
This holiday means a lot to me. My family has served this country for generations. My own years in the U.S. Navy taught me lessons I still use every day as a surgeon. This is a story about duty, family, and compassion. It is also about how service to others, on the battlefield or in the operating room, comes from the same place in the heart.
My Patriotic Family
My family's story of service starts long before I was born. My Italian family had two uncles who fought in World War II. Both were hurt in combat on the island of Sicily, their homeland, and both earned the Purple Heart Medal.
One of them was my godfather, Liberty Ingraldi. He helped open the only Allied crossing over the Rhine River into Germany. Liberty came to America as a new immigrant, and freedom is part of why he chose that name. He earned a Bronze Star for his part in the fighting at the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River on March 7, 1945. That battle was even shown in the 1969 movie The Bridge at Remagen.
My father, Charlie Troell, served on the first aircraft carrier sent to the Korean War, the USS Valley Forge (CV 45). He worked as an electrician's mate. His ship launched the first carrier air strikes of that war, including flights by the famous Black Sheep Squadron. My father remembered the carrier racing up and down the coast at top speed. This trick made North Korea believe there was more than one carrier nearby.
My older brother, Tomas Neil Troell, went to a military academy. My younger brother, Charles Troell Jr., recently retired from the Orlando, Florida police department, where he worked as a forensic detective. He now teaches forensic investigation to law enforcement officers, including the U.S. Secret Service. Charles also served with the U.S. Army in Bosnia and in both Gulf Wars.
My mother worked as a bookkeeper at Picatinny Arsenal, one of the oldest U.S. Army facilities in the country. It opened in 1880 and is still used today for weapons research and engineering. My sister, Kathy Stauter, married an engineer who also worked there.
Growing up surrounded by this kind of service, I learned that caring for your country and caring for other people are really the same thing. That lesson followed me into the Navy, and it still guides how I care for every patient today.
My Navy Career Begins
I was sworn into the Navy at Picatinny Arsenal, an Army base, by an Air Force general. Major General James Baginski helped plan the U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War and led major air mobility missions. To round out my ties to every branch of the military, I was later attached to the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan.
I attended Officer Indoctrination School in Newport, Rhode Island, alongside other doctors, lawyers, and engineers. As a fourth-year medical student, I trained in anesthesia and surgery in San Diego. During that time, I spent evenings at Miramar Naval Air Station, home of the real Top Gun.
Compassion in the Middle of Chaos
After medical school, I completed my surgical internship at the brand-new San Diego Naval Hospital in Balboa Park. I was the only surgical intern working alongside two board-certified neurosurgeons, and the schedule was brutal, over 110 hours a week.
One day, a young U.S. Marine arrived by helicopter. He had been shot in the head during a live-fire training exercise at Camp Pendleton. I stood by his bedside in the intensive care unit every single day for a month. I even presented his case to the hospital's admiral and to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. I remember standing there in my scrubs, unshaven and exhausted, but focused only on caring for my patient, a young Marine fighting for his life.
He survived. He went on to graduate from Cleveland State University, even though he could not walk without help. He later spoke in front of the U.S. Congress, asking for funding for spinal nerve research that could help him walk again. I was honored to take him to the San Diego Zoo during his recovery, and even more honored when he joined me at my wedding more than a year later.
His story was so remarkable that CBS made a television movie about it. I always wondered who would play me. I imagined someone like Tom Cruise. Instead, the role went to a young actress. It was not the casting choice I expected, but it taught me that the story was never really about me. It was about showing up for a patient every single day, no matter how tired I was.
Friends Who Became Lifelong Patriots
During my time with the Marines, I met many remarkable people who became lifelong friends. My roommate in a traditional Japanese house was LCDR Mike Muldoon, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who left the military to attend medical school and become a doctor. He later retired as a Navy Captain and led orthopedic surgery at San Diego Naval Hospital.
We also became friends with Major Gil Macklin, whose father was Admiral Martin Macklin. Another close friend was Wally Campbell, a former F-4 fighter pilot in Vietnam who became a top Marine Corps judge.
One neighbor was a Marine I spent two weeks partying with at the Air Force Officers Club. I was later ordered to report to a new commanding officer at Camp Kinser. When I walked into his office in my dress uniform, I realized it was the very same Marine I had just spent two weeks celebrating with, Colonel Jack Holly. We respected each other instantly and became close friends.
Colonel Holly, who had served as a young lieutenant in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, later became my commanding officer during Team Spirit 1989. This massive training exercise on the Korean peninsula brought together U.S. and allied forces during the final years of the Cold War.
A Case of Compassion I Will Never Forget
Colonel Holly still tells people that I saved his life. He developed high fevers day after day, and I diagnosed him with Korean Hemorrhagic Fever. His commanding officer finally sent him to the Army hospital in Seoul, where the medical staff nursed him back to health. Because it was flu season, the only open bed was in the pediatric ward. When his fever finally broke, he saw a painting of Big Bird on the wall and briefly thought he was hallucinating. He was not. I am still close friends with Colonel Holly today, 35 years later.
Serving Through Disaster
The next year, I deployed to Subic Bay in the Philippines for jungle training. While I was in the jungle, a typhoon struck the region so hard it flooded several military vehicles.
My roommate, LCDR Michael Muldoon, connected me with a Navy SEAL stationed nearby. I offered medical support during SEAL weapons training. My commanding officer, Major Ronald Coleman, later became only the second African American Marine to reach the rank of three-star Lieutenant General. That SEAL later retired as a three-star Vice Admiral.
While I was stationed at Subic Bay, a group tried to overthrow the Philippine government on December 1, 1989. That same year is remembered around the world as the year the Berlin Wall fell, ending the Cold War. I was ordered to help organize U.S. citizens for possible evacuation to nearby aircraft carriers. We flew in a helicopter escorted by attack helicopters. It was the only time in my Navy career that I came under ground fire. Within a week, the United States helped the Philippine government restore order.
On July 16, 1990, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Luzon while I was training on a rifle range. I was sent immediately with my medical team to a six-story college building that had collapsed in Cabanatuan.
Along with the Marines, I helped pull a young man from the rubble after his legs had been crushed under concrete for 18 hours. The next morning, I noticed dark urine, a sign of serious muscle damage, and arranged for him to be flown to the Naval Hospital at Subic Bay. His lifelong dream was to become a U.S. Marine. A general in the Pacific granted his wish and commissioned him a Marine lieutenant on the spot. Sadly, he passed away about a month later from his injuries, despite our best surgical efforts. I stayed in touch with his mother for many years afterward. I was later awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for my work that day, helping to save as many lives as possible.
Compassionate Care, Every Single Time
The same dedication I brought to patients in a war zone, I bring to every patient at Troell Cosmetic Surgery.
Friendships That Shaped My Life
Captain Vaughn Ary went on to become the highest-ranking Marine attorney in the country, the Judge Advocate of the Marine Corps. He now serves as a lead attorney in the U.S. Justice Department. I had the honor of having dinner with him and his wife at the Cherry Blossom Festival a couple of years ago.
Colonel Jack Holly's father was an Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon, much like me. I trained in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University. His father once saved the life of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North after a car accident at the Naval Academy. Through that connection, I had the pleasure of meeting Fawn Hall, North's assistant during the Iran-Contra period. She is a bright, dedicated patriot whose own mother worked as an assistant to five different national security advisors. We celebrated together two years ago at the Willard Hotel, honoring the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy.
From the Battlefield to Troell Cosmetic Surgery
My years in the Navy taught me that real service means showing up for people on their hardest days, whether that is a Marine on a helicopter pad, a young man trapped after an earthquake, or a patient walking into my office in Las Vegas today.
That same sense of duty and compassion is why I built Troell Cosmetic Surgery. Every patient deserves a surgeon who listens, who cares, and who is fully committed to their safety and their results. On this Independence Day, as we celebrate 250 years of American freedom, I am proud to have served this country, and I am grateful for the chance to keep serving my patients every day.
Celebrate You This Independence Day
Take the next step toward looking and feeling your best. Our team is ready to help you plan your journey.
About Dr. Robert J. Troell
Dr. Robert J. Troell is a facial plastic surgeon and a Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and multiple other American surgical boards. He trained at Stanford University and served as a Clinical Professor there.
With more than 30 years of surgical experience, more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, and 18 book chapters, Dr. Troell is dedicated to helping every patient achieve safe, natural-looking, long-lasting results.
(702) 242-6488 · drtroell.com · 5375 S Fort Apache Rd #101, Las Vegas, NV 89148
Mon–Fri 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM · Weekends by appointment
This article shares Dr. Troell's personal military experience and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult Dr. Troell directly to discuss your individual goals and treatment options. © 2026 Troell Cosmetic Surgery & Facial Plastic Clinic. All rights reserved.