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| Iraq |
| Michael Yon: "Under Distant Stars" |
| 2007-10-09 |
| . . . Soon after my embed with the 2-7 CAV ended, I made one other visit to a CSH. Among the many wounded was one soldier who had been terribly maimed by an IED during an ambush. It is hard to describe the extent of his injuries. These CSHs host a daily array of gunshot wounds of every description, traumatic amputations, and severe burns, but his wounds were horrible even by those standards. As blood soaked through his bandages, a pretty young nurse walked out into the hall and burst into tears. A doctor called the soldierÂ’s father, and gravely related the truth: the staff would try to keep him alive until Germany, so his family could be there at the end. Still wearing full combat gear, some of his buddies were there to see him off from the CSH. Other off-duty soldiers were there to help load the wounded onto the buses, which drove us all to the C-17 parked on the tarmac. We roared into the night, heading to Landstuhl, Germany. During the flight, the nurses steadily checked the patients, especially the dying soldier, farthest back on the plane. . . . Go read it all. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 Our nation needs to remember men like this for as long as there are citizens under the Stars and Stripes. Wars always seem to take the best from us, leaving us depleted just a small bit from what we could be. Remembering these heros, and honoring them as such, will go a long way toward bridging that gap. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-10-09 16:59 |
| #2 Thank you, Mike, for posting this, and my thanks to Mr. Yon for telling the story of yet another to whom we owe so much. May his memory be a blessing to those who loved him. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-10-09 12:13 |
| #1 ItÂ’s been many months since the soldier was killed with the IED, and the subsequent call asking who would get the money for his death, and then his organs were harvested. He laid down his life for us.. and continued to give in death... can't ask a Soldier or Marine for much more than that eh... From Yon's report it seemed that some members of his family didn't care... but we do and salute you Soldier! RIP |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-10-09 11:22 |