Michigan Marine recruit shot during Parris Island live-fire drill is recovering
On Friday, the Marines released the name and hometown of the recruit who was shot, apparently with an M16 rifle, during marksmanship training earlier this week. The recruit who sustained the injury is Pvt. Aduel Goddard of Williamsburg, Mich., according to a spokesperson at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
The Marines previously reported that the 18-year-old recruit sustained a gunshot wound to the leg while training on the range but few additional details have been made public on the circumstances surrounding the extent of the recruit’s injuries or the events that led up to the mishap.
The Instagram account of “NotInRegz,” which posts about Marine and military issues, reported that the recruit was shot in the foot and said it had a full photo. The Marines would not confirm specifically where the Marine was shot other than the “leg.”
Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Yarbrough, a Parris Island spokesman, said it would be premature to speculate while the case remains under investigation.
The Marines have not said whether Goddard’s weapon was the one that fired the round.
Yarbrough did confirm the shooting occurred during live-fire marksmanship training as part of the recruit training curriculum. Recruits are issued M16A4 service rifles for marksmanship training, the standard infantry weapon of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Marines on Friday also released the specific time and location of the shooting: 9:44 a.m. Wednesday on the Starlite Range.
Goddard is currently being treated at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Marines cannot release specific medical details about individual Marines, Yarbrough said.
After getting medical attention on site, the recruit was airlifted to Memorial.
About 16,000 enlisted recruits a year train to be Marines at the 8,000-acre island base in Port Royal, one of two bases in the country where recruits train to become Marines. The other is Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM.
