by Antoinette N. Balta
Born in Argentina, Ivan Krimker flew fifteen hours to immigrate to the United States in 1993. He took English courses at night prior to attending college. Ivan eventually started volunteering at Valley Trauma Center where he would accompany sexual assault survivors to the hospital and advocate for them. As a compassionate aide who would explain the tedious medical and police process to the survivor, Ivan was a welcomed friend to many in need. As a result, he was eventually recruited by the Children’s Assault Treatment Services at Northridge Hospital to provide Spanish translations for forensic interviews of survivors. Inspired by his exposure to law enforcement officers who would accompany survivors, Ivan developed a desire to serve in a greater capacity on the front lines. After the traumatic events of 9/11, Ivan researched how he could protect the country he had come to love over the past ten years. After speaking with a military recruiter, Ivan enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Ivan completed training as a medic on the blue “Navy” side and requested to be stationed on the green “Marine Corps” side with the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton where he received more extensive training as a combat medic. He sought out and was excited to receive orders to deploy to Iraq.
In 2004, now-Hospital Corpsman Third Class Ivan Krimker deployed with Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On August 25, during a battle in Najaf, Ivan’s platoon found itself pinned down by heavy machine gun, sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire. During the firefight, an RPG exploded next to Ivan, knocking him unconscious and wounding his platoon sergeant. When he regained consciousness, Ivan threw himself on top of his injured platoon sergeant, protecting the sergeant from further injury.
Although Ivan was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal to distinguish his heroic actions, he never received a Purple Heart to recognize his combat injury. In fact, as primary medical provider for his unit, Ivan chose not to seek medical treatment at the time, as it would have taken him away from his platoon when it needed him most.
Following his deployment, Ivan found himself suffering from symptoms related to the RPG blast, including balance problems, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Despite his debilitating injuries, Ivan decided to attend law school to continue his mission to serve. I met Ivan as Executive Director of Veterans Legal Institute® (VLI) and, in a rare moment, he shared his story with me. When I prompted Ivan as to why he didn’t apply for a Purple Heart, he downplayed his acts of heroism, indicating that there were more deserving service members who gave their lives. The Purple Heart is awarded for being wounded or killed in any military action against an enemy and there are specific rules and regulations to receive what is one of America’s most recognized and oldest military decorations available.
In my capacity at Veterans Legal Institute®, I reached out to Natasha Domek, a veteran who then worked at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, LLP, and who agreed to take the case pro bono from VLI and apply for the Purple Heart. Natasha filed the initial claim, and then John Drdek, also a veteran and associate at Sheppard Mullin, assisted HM3 Krimker in navigating the administrative hurdles that unexpectedly came to play post-filing of the Purple Heart Reclama.
John Drdek’s background as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve gave him the necessary understanding of Ivan’s history and service, as well as intimate knowledge about the Purple Heart Reclama. John received his commission in 2009 as a Public Affairs Officer and was later deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 with Special Operations Joint Task Force. Additionally, John received the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for his role in the successful hostage rescue of Jessica Buchanan and Paol Thisted from Somali pirates in January 2012.
After a monumental group effort involving Veterans Legal Institute®, Sheppard Mullin, John Drdek, and Natasha Domek, in January 2021, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command approved Ivan’s Reclama and announced he would be presented with the Purple Heart immediately.
Award of a Purple Heart is rare; it is reserved for few American heroes and includes significant federal benefits. Among those include automatic upgrade of medical priority group so the decorated veteran, regardless of the severity of their injuries or income, gets higher priority access to medical care and relief from paying any copays for VA medical treatment or hospitalization. There are other home loan, GI Bill, and federal hiring preference benefits along with benefits unique to each state.
Both John and Ivan have lived lives of service and continue to give back. While deployed in Afghanistan, John studied for and took the LSAT. Upon return from his deployment, John graduated from Stanford Law School and continues to serve in the Navy Reserve with support from Sheppard Mullin, and deployed in 2020 to assist the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. John is one of the founders of the Veterans at Sheppard affinity group at Sheppard Mullin, educating attorneys about veterans’ issues and promoting pro bono work for veterans needing legal aid. Like Ivan, John is an American hero.
Meanwhile, Ivan graduated from Whittier Law School and now works for Homeland Security adjudicating immigration cases for USCIS. He frequently assists veterans in need and now shares his story more openly in order to help other similarly situated veterans. He is married to a nurse with whom he shares two small children.
As a result of this pro bono legal journey, John established a formal partnership between Veterans at Sheppard and the Veterans Legal Institute®, providing Sheppard Mullin’s 900+ attorneys across the country the opportunity to assist with VLI’s pro bono caseload. Sheppard Mullin has hosted staff attorneys at Veterans Legal Institute to provide free trainings in discharge upgrades so as to assist survivors of military sexual trauma, combat-related post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injury.
Antoinette N. Balta is the Executive Director and Co-Founder at Veterans Legal Institute, a nonprofit law firm wholly focused on providing free legal services to veterans, and can be reached at abalta@vetslegal.com. To learn more about how you can serve veterans through Veterans Legal Institute, please visit VetsLegal.org.