MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- As Cpl. Logan Degenhardt sits in a chair outside his barracks room drinking a beer and talking to his friends, he realized his experiences in Iraq - including wounds sustained in two separate firefights - will live with him forever.The 21-year-old from Boscobel, Wis., is one of a handful of Marines receiving two Purple Hearts for service with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment - the unit that lost more Marines than any other so far in Operation Iraqi Freedom. But Degenhardt doesn't complain about being wounded twice, or try to make himself into a hero. "I really don't think about getting shot that much. After a while, the shock value of being in a firefight wears off," Degenhardt said. "You can't take it too seriously in Iraq, or you'll go insane. We actually used to cheer when mortar rounds or enemy fire got close."Degenhardt says he was shot while "just doing my job." On April 10, while raiding an suspected terrorist's house, his squad came under heavy enemy fire. He was the first to find cover. While members of his squad followed him into a room, he provided cover fire even after taking a round in his left shoulder. Even now, pieces of shrapnel are embedded in his shoulder.The second time Degenhardt was shot, he was clearing a house. After clearing a room with a grenade, his team entered the house, only to find the assailant still fighting, barricaded and largely protected from the explosion."As we came in the room we came under immediate fire. I went for cover in a niche in the wall and took a couple of grazing shots. I've never tried to make myself so small in my entire life," Degenhardt said.Both raids were successful; Marines subdued the attackers and took prisoners, Degenhardt said."Earning two Purple Hearts is definitely unusual, it is not a common accomplishment," said Maj. Mike P. Wylie, 2/4's executive officer, noting that Degenhardt was not alone in collecting two badges denoting blood sacrifice. After his time in Iraq, Degenhardt said he appreciates home a lot more now that he's had to spend so much time away."You learn not to take your freedoms for granted; it's the little things that would normally escape a person's notice - like being able to go buy a steak, or smoke a cigarette outside without being shot at," Degenhardt said."The hardest part is when you lose your friends. We remember them by the way that they made us feel, how they made us laugh, the jokes they told."Asked about the war and the controversy surrounding it, a spark of passion lights his eyes."If people could see the good we're doing in Iraq," he said. "Just in the time I was there, the areas are cleaner. We're fixing the streets and lights. When you hand out candy, pencils or balls to the kids and see the smiles on everyone's faces, it's great. "People don't see how the Iraqis live, so they can't imagine the way of life over here. I'll know for the rest of my life I did the right thing." E-mail Sgt. Storm at robert.storm@nmci.usmc.mil