A rocket-propelled grenade had hit the sergeant's truck as he was accompanying an Afghan Army convoy into a contested valley. Four days after the attack, he sat shirtless in a Landstuhl bed, the slashes and stitches of a hundred fragments sprayed across his chest. As soon as he healed, he said, coolly, he'd be going back to training the Afghan Army.
He knows it is a step toward peace.
***
AN ADDED NOTE: As I left Landstuhl, I spoke with one of the hospital chaplains who walked our group through what he called "the chaplain's clothes closet." The "closet" is an operation of the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center. Individuals can donate to the Wounded Warrior Fund, which is used to buy clothing and personal items.
There is a particularly need for "adaptive" clothing. The donation mailing address is Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, ATTN: MCEUL-CH/Chaplain's Office, CMR 402, APO AE 09180. They also have a direct donor phone line: 011-49-6371-86-7419.
Austin Bay
Austin Bay Austin Bay is author of three novels. His third novel, The Wrong Side of Brightness, was published by Putnam/Jove in June 2003. He has also co-authored four non-fiction books, to include A Quick and Dirty Guide to War: Third Edition (with James Dunnigan, Morrow, 1996).
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