Veterans Day

Many of you have shared with me my 554,400 minutes in Iraq. Many of you know that I wear my uniform everyday. Many of you know and shared in the stories of my close calls, my work, my passion, my love for the uniform, and my near death experiences while deployed. But what many of you don't know are the stories I have heard, the heroes I have mended, and those soldiers who died and gave the ultimate sacrifice not only for the cause but for their fellow brethren and sister in uniform. It is some of those stories I am going to share with you today, many...if not all you have never heard of and probably never would. I do however want to start this entry with my love and a shout of honor to my brother Aaron Holleyman, who a year removed of his sacrifice continues to watch us from above...proud of all he sees. These stories were either witnessed first hand from yours truly, or passed on to me by those involved because I cared for them either in Iraq or in Germany. Some of them will knock you off your feet and honestly, I hope they take your breath away too...
- One of the first patients I took care of when the war started was a young 22 year old SGT who while riding in the back of a vehicle with his squad had a grenade thrown into the back where they were sitting. He knew he didn't have time to throw it back out because it would have exploded in the middle of them. Instead, he grabbed the canister, tucked it up under is flack jacket and turned is body between the grenade and his buddies. Thankfully the canister was not a grenade but a smoke bomb which when ignited it severely burned his chest and face...but this SGT had no idea at the time what it was...all he knew was that he had to do something.
-I not to long ago had a young SPC that stepped out of his vehicle and was shot in the neck. Nothing vital was hit and he was ok. His commander an LTC was so upset that a sniper hit his soldier that he sent the entire unit out to find him. They cornered the insurgent and LTC turned the corner to be shot twice in the legs by him. As he was falling he turned into the room and was firing until out of ammo; but the insurgent kept going. So the Sergeant Major (highest ranking enlisted) ran into the room and went hand to hand with the insurgent. A short few seconds later drug him out by the collar.
-A soldier while in Iraq fell into the Tigris River. With all his gear on you don't have much time. His two buddies dove in after him to save him, but they too had their gear on. Three days later we found their bodies.
- While on foot chase after some insurgents in Baghdad another young SGT was in hot pursuit of a gunman. He turned the corner only to met by a 9mm only 3 inches from his face. All he remembers was a blinding light, a loud noise, and feeling like he was on the wrong end of an Ali knock out punch. But after staggering backward he realized he was still alive. Standing in front of him was a wide eyed insurgent starring at ghost. He quickly "delt" with the insurgent and then went to the Combat Support Hospital. He said, "I was just shot in the face, but I am still standing here." Although only a small cut was showing above the lip x-rays revealed a bullet lodge in the roof of his mouth and gums. He literally caught the bullet with his teeth...superman is a pansy!
-Perhaps one of the most touching stories I have been apart of occurred recently while I was working in the ICU. I had a patient, I think he was 36 years old, married with three kids. He was severely burned, 3rd degree burns over 73% of his body. While riding in the second vehicle he watched as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle in front of him was blown up. His 6 soldiers were trapped inside, burning alive and screaming for God to deliver them. Acting in God's shoes this day was SFC C. He ran up to the molting metal door and pulled it open and continued to drag each and every soldier out of there. Even while he stepped into the furnace and his own boots and clothes were burning off, he continue to drag them out potentially saving all their lives. They all came to Germany in critical condition but alive, and all because one man threw everything aside for his boys. I pray for his recovery.