Photo By Master Sgt. Demetrius Lester | Spc. Joseph Carter holds a photo of his best friend, Anthony Owens, who was killed in...... read more read more
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PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Spc. Joseph Carter's military life began where another's tragically ended.
Carter, an infantryman and scout with the 4/189th infantry unit currently deployed with the 1/178th field artillery unit of the South Carolina National Guard, had no real thoughts about joining the military.
"At 18 years old, I was a certified welder and operator working construction," said Carter, a native of Newport News, Va., now living in Loris, S.C. "I was making great money and really liked the work I was doing."
Carter had nothing against the military; he just never thought it was for him.
"My dad was a military guy, so it did run in my family," Carter said of his father, a former Army Ranger. "Some of my friends joined the military, but it's not like everyone I knew ran out after high school and signed up."
One such friend that joined the military was Carter's best friend, Anthony Owens, from Dillon, S.C.
Owens enlisted with the Army right after high school and left soon after for basic training.
"I was happy for him when he signed up," said Carter. "He really wanted to be an infantryman. In fact, he chose the Army because they gave him his preferred specialty."
Almost immediately after his training was complete, Owens came home on leave and encouraged Carter to enlist in the Army himself.
"Anthony came home right after basic training and talked about how great the Army was," said Carter. "I was so impressed that before he left town, he took me down to the recruiting station and encouraged me to enlist. Besides my dad, who told me to do what I felt was right; no one else in my family wanted me to join the Army. But I knew it was the right thing to do."
Carter enlisted as an infantryman himself and was jetted off to basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., within weeks.
"It's funny how quickly they can get you into basic training when you request to be an infantryman," Carter said.
While Carter was in basic training, Owens received deployment orders to Iraq.
Upon graduation from basic training, Carter was sent back to South Carolina to await advanced individual training. In the meantime, he accepted a construction job to occupy his time. All along, he had high hopes of joining Owens on the battlefield, two best friends serving the country they loved.
Sadly, Carter's hopes would be dashed, as Owens' first deployment to Iraq would also be his last.
On Feb. 1, 2006, south of Baghdad, Iraq, Owens' convoy was attacked with small-arms fire and Owens was killed.
"I was at work when his family called me and told me that Anthony had died," said Carter. "It surprises you because you never expect that to happen. I mean, think about all the soldiers that are overseas right now and for the one that you knew to go over there and die; it's kind of hard to comprehend. You think about all the soldiers who deploy and come home without a problem, you just don't think that one won't. His death had a major effect on me and my family."
After all the solemn words had been proclaimed and the memories of his best friend's life had been acknowledged, Carter often thought of how to remember Owens' ultimate sacrifice throughout the rest of his life.
Carter decided that he would dedicate his young military career to his fallen friend; a gesture that he felt would be the highest honor he could personally bestow.
Just as Carter's renewed focus regarding military service was on track, it went up in smoke. Literally.
One day, Carter was burning trash in his backyard.
"I had just gotten a new vehicle," Carter said. "I didn't want to take the trash down to the dump and dirty my car. Instead, I decided to burn it myself on a concrete pad in my backyard."
Carter had seven bags of trash to burn that day. When he reached around to grab the last bag of trash to add it to the fire, a hairspray can inside the previous bag exploded directly in front of his face.
In a flash, Carter went from fighting for his country to fighting for his own life. His wife quickly came to his aid and helped put out the flames, but not before he had suffered burns to 85 percent of his face and hands.
Carter was quickly taken to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., where he received a seemingly endless treatment of cadaver and pig skin replacements.
Now, instead of serving as an advanced scout or fighting an insurgency in a foreign land in honor of his personal hero, Carter was confined to a hospital bed, wincing as every pulse of his heart sent off a new wave of painful stimuli across his body.
"They sent me home after three weeks with orders to return in a month," Carter said. "I was home for a month, drinking out of a straw. Every day, my wife would have to come with a pair of scissors and cut the skin that was peeling off my face. That sucked. I lost 25 pounds because I couldn't eat anything. I could barely breathe. Life was kind of hard."
However, Carter's agony was not without gain. When Carter returned to the burn center for his first outpatient exam, he was already 90 percent healed.
"The medical folks were completely surprised by how much I had healed in such a short time," Carter said. "They had already reserved me a bed there in anticipation of further in-patient treatment. They thought for sure they were going to check me back in. However, they said at the first appointment that I had healed well enough to not have to go back for any checkups."
Most people would undoubtedly want to be a little selfish, or at least overly-cautious, after such a harrowing experience.
Carter is not like most people.
"I thought my chances of serving in the Army after my accident were slim-to-none" Carter said. "But I had to give it a shot, and not just because of what happened to Anthony. You know, just like you have your family at home that you love and are close to, you also have a family in the military that you're just as close to. It's unreal. You meet someone on a deployment and you feel like you've known them your whole life. You build a camaraderie that you can't get anywhere else. I really wanted to keep both relationships for as long as I could."
In a short amount of time, Carter healed significantly enough for him to pass the Army physical and the Army took him back.
However, because so much time had elapsed between Carter's military schools, the Army asked Carter to again go through the rigors of basic training and then do a stint in the National Guard to ensure he had the mental, physical and emotional stamina to still be a soldier.
True to his nature, Carter accepted his new assignment with determination.
"Basic training the second time was a little easier because I knew what to expect," said Carter. "It kind of sucked that I had to do it over again, but it is what it is. There are policies for a reason."
The other caveat to his service, the six-month commitment to the 4/189th Infantry Unit of the South Carolina National Guard, was almost up when Carter volunteered to augment another South Carolina National Guard unit on their deployment to Afghanistan.
That unit was tasked to be the security element for the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team.
The mission of the Paktika PRT is to assist in the stabilization and security of Paktika province, a large province located on the eastern Afghan border near the Pakistan tribal areas. However, rather than going out and actively combating insurgent activity as Carter had been working toward, the PRT focuses on other causes of instability, chiefly: development, governance and agriculture initiatives.
The PRT is a collection of military and interagency partners who help provide the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the tools necessary to provide for the long-term needs of the provincial population.
So here Carter stands, as a gunner inside his Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle, much the same person as the guy he was just a few short years ago, except for some subtle changes that he notices.
"The hair on the top of my head won't grow back, unless I want to pay for surgery, so that kind of sucks," Carter said.
"I figure, you only live once, so you might as well set yourself on fire," Carter joked. "I have no regrets whatsoever in my life. I mean, I'm still here to talk about it. That's all I can ask for."
Through all the turmoil Carter has experienced, his promise to honor his friend's legacy has not been forgotten. To remind himself why he is doing what he does, Carter keeps a picture of Owens in his wallet and ensures that it accompanies him wherever he goes.
"If I could talk to him right now, I hope he'd tell me that he's proud of me and my service, because I'd definitely tell the same to him."
Chances are good that Owens would tell Carter the same.
| Date Taken: | 04.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2010 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 47702 |
| Location: | PAKITA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 412 |
| Downloads: | 382 |
This work, When fighting for your country and your life come full circle, by Capt. Mark Lazane, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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