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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Guerrilla's paradise inside a shattered city |
| 2004-11-14 |
| From inside, the sound of an armor-piercing rocket-propelled grenade hitting a Bradley Fighting Vehicle is more tenor than bass, a bang rather than a boom. It produces an immediate cloud of dust and smoke, shakes the entire 30-ton vehicle like an empty beer can and is suddenly over, making the relief of still being alive almost instantaneous and the window of fear negligibly small. "Go, go, driver, go," Sgt. Calvin Smalley of the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment shouted on the radio, as soon as the explosion happened at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Spc. Eric Watson, the driver, said nothing. The vehicle didn't move. "Is Watson hit?" Smalley shouted. Suddenly, the Bradley roared into motion, taking off at pace as the gunner pounded the nearby buildings with the high explosive rounds on his 25-mm cannon. "Hey, Watson, you hurt at all?" asked Sgt. Akram Abdelwahab, 28, speaking into a radio handset from the rear compartment of the Bradley. "I got shrapnel in my --," Watson radioed back. He drove on a bit more. "We got a hole about four inches by four inches," he radioed. "I got shrapnel in my leg and in my -- ." Very good color piece from the battle of Fallujah. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |