Courtesy Photo | (From left) Spc. Aaron Hagan, a 24-year-old native of Union, Ky.; Spc. Chris Sons, a...... read more read more
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CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait— With the sun shining bright in the cool November air, soldiers of the 1149th Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command gathered outside their tents. On this day, they came together to honor four of their own soldiers with the Purple Heart, a decoration that can only be earned by sustaining injuries in combat.
Their commander recalled how the soldiers finished the mission after being injured and admired their eagerness to get back on the roads afterward.
“I’m extremely proud of the effort and dedication it took to complete that mission,” said Capt. Martin Schaefer, the 1149th FSC commander and a native of Lexington, Ky. “In their case, they handled it extremely well. They didn’t want to let their soldiers in the [convoy escort team] down and wanted get back out there.”
For the four soldiers involved, the roadside bomb that wounded them when it detonated near their truck Aug. 29 might have been much worse were it not for quick thinking and good training.
“Right when it initially happened, it was kind of a shock, but honestly, I guess training just took over,” said Spc. Chris Sons, a 23-year-old native of Irvine, Ky., who was driving the truck during the attack. “I didn’t think about it a whole lot; I just kind of acted.”
The truck’s gunner, Spc. Andrew Zalla, a 22-year-old native of Independence, Ky., agreed with Sons about the training, especially the driver’s instinctual reactions.
“Yeah, if it wasn’t for [Sons] keeping the vehicle a little bit more to the left, I’m pretty sure it would have been a lot worse, especially for me,” he said.
All four soldiers in the truck sustained traumatic brain injuries, which has been called the signature wound of the missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The soldiers each said that they have since either successfully recovered or feel like they’re close to doing so.
The full effects of the injury, however, can still be hard to distinguish.
“You can’t really tell on the surface really what’s going on,” said 1st Lt. Joshua Bailey, a 24-year-old native of Richmond, Ky., who served as the convoy commander in the truck on the day the attack.
Zalla summed it up for himself and two of his counterparts who have yet to tell their families about the incident.
“I haven’t had the heart to tell my mom yet,” said Zalla with a mix of guilt and amusement. “I just feel real lucky and proud.”
One thing all four soldiers can definitely agree on is their honor in being able to wear the Purple Heart.
“It’s kind of bittersweet. It sucks that it happened, but it made me proud,” said Spc. Aaron Hagan, a 24-year-old native of Union, Ky., about earning his Purple Heart.
Bailey summed up the Soldiers’ sentiments and said that he takes it as a great honor to serve his country and to serve with fellow soldiers who are “being young patriots” for their nation.
“It’s been a real honor to serve with them and to earn this award; being put out there with these guys that are willing to sacrifice everything for their country,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.26.2011 11:24 |
| Story ID: | 80575 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 1,412 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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