On Sept. 18, with plenty of cause for celebration, Corbett hit the town in stride.
Along with three close friends, he was reveling in excitement for his upcoming move to Missoula.
Missoula seemed a veritable paradise to the 25-year-old, who served as a cavalry scout in Iraq and Kosovo and routinely saw heavy combat but was never injured.
Last Saturday morning, Corbett passed an admissions exam at the Missoula Police Department - the first step in a long process toward donning a uniform, but it was a big enough accomplishment to excite Corbett.
Scheduled to begin interim work at a local cable company, Corbett was also rejoicing in his recent acquisition of gainful employment - a challenge for 20-somethings in Missoula.
But on Thursday, after five days in intensive care at St. Pat's, Corbett and his family began a somber journey back to Ellensburg, Wash., packing up those hopes and dreams.
Corbett is recovering from two skull fractures, internal bleeding and a brain injury that could be permanent.
"He got this job, he was all ready to move over here to this beautiful town, and he has it all taken away from him by these people who do this on a regular basis," said Pat Corbett, Ben's father. "This damaged him more in one evening than all the RPGs he ever saw in Iraq."
Pat Corbett is an anaesthetist with the military, and is currently assigned to a crisis-action team in New Orleans. He dropped everything and came straight to Missoula when he heard about his son.
The medical terms describing Ben Corbett's injuries sound grim - a blowout skull fracture, a basilar skull fracture and a subarachnoid bleed - but in layman's terms the injuries are far grimmer.
Blood has been coming out of his right ear all week.
His breathing was regulated by a ventilator, and he has almost no short-term memory.
The cognitive therapy Corbett has endured shows that he forgets simple words almost immediately, and he can't recall them even when doctors provide clues.
He doesn't remember being stomped into the ground on Ryman Street, either.
Corbett and his friends left Sean Kelly's bar about 1 a.m. last Sunday.
While waiting to cross at a stoplight at Broadway and Ryman Street, four men approached them.
"We were standing on the corner waiting for the walk sign to change, chatting," said Erin Corbett, Ben's sister-in-law. "The next thing I remember, there were four guys standing there, trying to pick a fight with Ben."
Erin said she was nudging Ben away from the group when somebody punched him in the eye, knocking him unconscious.
When Ben's friend, Tyler Drake, stepped in to help, a single punch knocked him unconscious.
The violence didn't stop there.
With horror, the witnesses interviewed by Missoula police officers described the violent beating that followed.
Daniel Cawley said he was walking southbound on Ryman Street when he saw a group of people milling around. He saw Drake starting to get up from the ground when Ryan Knight, 17, ran up and kicked him in the face.
"He kicked him so hard I saw blood fly," Cawley told police.
When Cawley asked Drake if he was all right, Drake didn't respond to the questions but only coughed up blood.
Another witness, Leonard Norrid, said he saw Corbett lying on the ground unconscious.
Mila Gergen, 17, was pulling Corbett off the ground and slamming his head into the concrete, witnesses and police said.
"I couldn't believe they kept going at him after he was out," Erin Corbett said. "I really think they were out to kill him."
Missoula Police Lt. Chris Odlin reported that Corbett and Drake both appeared to be unconscious when he arrived at the scene.
Corbett was lying on his back, bleeding from his right ear. His left eye was swollen shut and purple in color. There was a red clear liquid seeping from his left eye.
Drake was face down, bleeding from his nose. He was released from the emergency room at St. Patrick Hospital on Sunday morning with a shattered nose.
Knight and Gergen, both of Missoula, remained at the scene until police arrived and were taken into custody.
Because of the serious nature of the incident, Deputy County Attorney Dori Brownlow is recommending the juveniles be charged as adults.
They are both charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault.
Both remain in jail, with bail set at $25,000 each.
Knight is scheduled to appear in Missoula District Court at 9 a.m. Monday and Gergen is set to appear at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Knight has been arrested before for assault.
On July 24, 2005, he was charged with misdemeanor assault for punching and kicking another man, resulting in serious injury.
"This is not an isolated incident," Pat Corbett said. "These guys are bad news. It's so evil to go someplace just to attack someone. Normal people don't just attack folks."
Corbett said his son's medical bill is hovering around $100,000. A victim's fund can only cover a maximum of $25,000.
"My son is looking at $75,000 in debt," Pat Corbett said. He plans to file a civil suit against Knight and Gergen.
"They don't have anything, but if they ever make any money, it'll be going to my son," Corbett said.
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com
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