Photo By Lt. Col. Patrick Simon | Capt. Darby Boudreaux, from Baton Rouge, La., the officer in charge and an instructor...... read more read more
BAGHDAD — May 25, 2005, is a date that is burned in the memory of Capt. Darby Boudreaux, 225th Engineer Brigade.
On that afternoon, his platoon was conducting a route clearance mission near Ghazaliya in western Baghdad. The site was supposed to be clear, but wasn't. Chaos suddenly broke out.
"I got blown up by an [improvised explosive device] while we were dismounted, and we started taking direct fire ... getting shot at immediately after," said Boudreaux. "I knew that I was hurt really bad because of the amount of blood that I was putting out."
A minor artery in his right leg was severed. In just 30 seconds in back of medical Humvee, Boudreaux remembered a shocking site. He was lying in a two inch puddle of his own blood. His blood pressure dropped to 60 over 30. He was close to death and losing consciousness.
Thankfully, doctors managed to stabilize him. Boudreaux would then spend the next three months recovering and going through painful rehabilitation.
"There really shouldn't be any reason why I am standing here upright, walking and talking," said Boudreaux.
The most traumatic part of the whole ordeal was not the impact of the blast or how close Boudreaux came to losing his life. It was the fact that he had to leave his Soldiers behind and how he wanted to get back to them.
Four years since that attack, Boudreaux convinced his command to let him return to Iraq.
"I have a couple of pieces of metal in me. I am fine, they let me deploy," he said.
Boudreaux may not be with the Soldiers he was forced to leave behind in 2005, but he is serving an important purpose; using his near death experience to give Soldiers a chance at success and a better chance to stay alive.
Boudreaux is currently the officer in charge and an instructor at the 225th Eng. Bde.'s Task Force Iron Claw Academy. The main theme of the training, IED identification, interrogation and detonation. He does this with added caution and care to make sure all of his Soldiers return safely from missions.
Boudreaux wasn't looking for TFICA, TFICA found him. His previous experience is the reason he was selected to teach Soldiers the best route clearance tactics; and now he spends long hours training Soldiers with precision and attention to detail knowing that one mistake could make the difference between life and death.
"It's very real when I teach ... I take this extremely seriously. I realize what can happen," said Boudreaux. "You try to take as much risk out of the equation as possible."
Sure, he is a different person with shrapnel still lodged throughout his body, but he takes that in stride, especially when talking about his wounded legs.
"I still have a little pain when I bounce them around. I can't run very well, but it's not a bad thing. I hated to run to begin with," Boudreaux said with a grin.
Boudreaux now has something else to smile about: the ability to finally complete his mission on the battlefield.
"I always thought I had left something unfinished," he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2009 04:43 |
| Story ID: | 37686 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 202 |
| Downloads: | 168 |
This work, Soldier returns for unfinished mission, by LTC Patrick Simon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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