Posted on 05/11/2004 9:22:58 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
Edward Sanchez Jr., 35, of Silver City, said he wasn't trying to be a hero when he took a job that required him to drive a truck through an Iraqi war zone, but that didn't stop fate and world events from conspiring to earn him a place in history.
He said he accepted the truck-driving job with Texas-based Kellogg, Brown and Root - a subsidiary of Halliburton - partly for the money, and partly for the adventure, he said.
"I took the job knowing I was going to Iraq," Sanchez told the Daily Press. "The job market here (in Silver City) is bad. The money (the company offered) was good, and the job provided room and board, so I thought, this was an opportunity to save some money."
Sanchez left the United States for Iraq on Jan. 11, in what would be his first overseas adventure.
"I'd never been anywhere except Canada and Mexico," he said. "My family was worried and tried to discourage me from going."
Sanchez had been in Iraq only a few months when, on April 9, his civilian convoy of about 20 trucks, transporting fuel and other supplies through Iraq, was attacked by Iraqi insurgents outside of Baghdad. The attack resulted in several civilian and military casualties, injuries, and kidnappings - including that of Thomas Hamill, 43, who later made headlines when he escaped and was found by American Army personnel.
Sanchez, who was driving a truck at the time, was injured in the attack when a bullet struck him in the upper leg and a bullet fragment hit his neck. He drove for about two miles after being struck, and along the way, picked up several stranded co-workers and soldiers from the convoy, before his truck finally broke down.
Ray Stanndard, of El Paso, Texas, is one of the Kellogg, Brown and Root employees Sanchez rescued that day.
"The day was the ultimate bad day," Stanndard told the Daily Press. "It was pretty terrifying."
Stanndard said most of that day's 60-mile trip from Camp Anaconda to Baghdad International Airport was routine, until the convoy reached the outskirts of Baghdad, about 15 miles from its destination.
"That's when we saw some ominous signs, some burned-out flatbeds and tankers, and very little traffic," he said. "It was kind of strange, but we just kept on going. We had been doing longer trips with only slight incidents, but that day, we set out not knowing what we would run into. The lead vehicle was shot at, and everyone in it was killed, and then, all hell broke loose.
"People were coming over the radio and saying, 'I'm hit,' and I wasn't sure if they meant their body had been hit or their vehicle. I remember Tommy Hamill coming over the radio saying he had been shot. He was one of the first, then more and more people came on the radio, saying they had been shot. Some were crying on the radio. We saw one truck engulfed in flames and black smoke."
Stanndard said he continued driving, keeping an eye out for survivors, until his truck, which had been struck by several bullets, broke down.
"We got out of the truck and crouched down and played dead until a soldier came along to help. A Humvee arrived and another soldier tried to wave to us to get on, but before we could get on, the truck went up in flames, and the soldier had to jump out," he said. "Then Eddie (Sanchez) came along. He was driving, and could have kept going, but he stopped and told us to get on. We jumped on."
Stanndard said another wounded co-worker had attempted to climb into the truck as it began moving, but didn't make it inside the vehicle. He hung onto the door as the truck proceeded down the road.
"As he was driving, Eddie was holding onto this other man, who was hanging onto the door. The man had taken a bullet and was trying to hang onto to the truck. Eddie kept him from falling," Stanndard said. "Then the truck Eddie was driving was shot up. A solider with us had been shot in the chest. The truck came to a complete stop on the bridge."
The group of 10 - five soldiers and five civilians - spent about 15 minutes to half an hour in a sheltered safety zone before American Army personnel picked them up, he said.
Stanndard suffered a broken wrist and other injuries during the incident.
"They took the seriously wounded first; two from our group later died," Stanndard told the Daily Press. "Me and Eddie, and another guy were patched up in a field tent and then sent to the hosptial."
Only seven of the more than 20 trucks from the convoy made it to the safety of the base in Baghdad, according to Stanndard.
"My faith got me through that incident," Sanchez said. "Trucks were on fire and we could hear people on the radio getting shot and asking for help. Bullets were hitting the truck and coming in through the windows."
Sanchez said that prior to arriving in Iraq, Kellogg, Brown and Root had provided company employees defensive driving courses to try to prepare them for incidents such as the April 9 attack.
"We were trained for this, and the military trained us also on how to respond," Sanchez said. "But it was still frightening. I do feel that the company took all the necessary steps to ensure our safety."
The wounded were transported to a nearby Army facility, then Sanchez was taken to a hospital in Kuwait where he underwent surgery for his bullet wounds, and was debriefed.
"My family had been worried," he said. "I called them as soon as I could to let them know that I was all right."
Sanchez returned to Silver City on April 26, and says he respects the civilian and military men and women serving in Iraq.
"The living conditions are rough," he said. "Most people are living in tents and the dust is very hard on the lungs. Most are working very long hours - 10- to 18-hour days - to help bring a better life to the people of Iraq. Part of the reason I wanted to go to Iraq in the first place is to help, and also, I hoped to evangelize and minister to the Americans working there. They're going through hardships, being away from home."
During the months he was there, Sanchez said, he was able to help comfort many of the men and women serving in Iraq.
"We had Bible study groups, and I think that helped a lot of people," he said. "So much of Scriptural history takes place in Iraq, so that made being there special. Jesus must have walked through there at one point, and the Garden of Eden is supposed to have been in Iraq - although, we didn't see any traces of the garden."
In a press statement released by Halliburton and KBR on May 7, the company said: "Books may not be written nor movies made about the courage, dedication and sacrifice of our employees in Iraq, but each and every one is a hero in the cause of peace and stability, and history will record them as such.
"While our employees choosing to serve in Iraq recognize the dangers inherent in working in a war zone, they are driven by their desire to help rebuild a country and contribute to the creation of a democracy.
"Civilian contractors work side-by-side with the military and Iraqi people. Our work is difficult and in a dangerous environment, and Halliburton and its subcontractors have lost 35 personnel while performing services under our contracts in the Kuwait-Iraq region."
Sanchez said, he doesn't think of himself as a hero, and was only trying to do his job while in Iraq.
Now that he's home, he said he'll continue to recuperate from his injuries and appreciate the time he can spend with his mother, Irene Sanchez of Silver City, and wife, Dana Sanchez, also a Silver City resident.
He has kept the piece of bullet doctors removed from his neck, and said he'll hang onto it for a while, as a reminder of the role he played in history.
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DIRECTIONS:
FROM SAN DIEGO: Fly the most direct route to Kuwait City International Airport (this will likely involve 2-3 stops and about 17 hours in the air). From KCIA take the 7th Ring Motorway to Hwy 80N towards Iraq. Once across the international border and UN checkpoint, this will become MSR Tampa. Follow MSR Tampa for approximately 400 miles. The route is well marked but very dangerous. It is not recommended that you travel without adequate firepower, and food and water to last several days. You may also consider some form of 2-way communications in order to contact the nearest available Quick Reaction Force. Additionally, unnecessary stops enroute are highly discouraged. Take the Baghdad Beltway south and west of the city towards Fallujah. Be especially alert when passing through the Fallujah cloverleaf. Follow the signs to Blue Diamond Main. The MASS-3 area will be the last compound on the right. Parking is available in the well-marked but poorly lit Motor Pool area.
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Our guys rock!
BTTT...
KBR might ought to consider subcontracting out convoy security. archy alluded to something like that in the works.
Whatever happened to archy?
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