Military Medical Team Makes the 'Toughest Call' (GI IMPALED BY BOMB - courage abounds!!!)

ABC News ^ | 9/22/07 | Ruth Reiss

[paulat]

Unexploded Rocket-Propelled Grenade Impales Army Private in Afghanistan By RUTH REISS

[snip]

One RPG skidded past Lt. Mariani's vehicle. All of the vehicles had to quickly get out of the "kill zone." But before they could get to safety, two rockets hit Pvt. Moss' Humvee.

Staff Sgt. Eric Wynn, 33, the soldier in the front passenger seat, felt one slice through his face. Moss remembers the truck practically lift up. He was thrown up against the Humvee and then moved to return fire.

"I smelled something smoking and I looked down ... and I was smoking," he said.

Wynn turned to tell Moss where to fire and saw the tail fins of the RPG sticking out of Moss' side.

Roughly the length of a baseball bat, an RPG travels at the speed of a bullet. At the front end is the warhead -- a large grenade. The detonator and fuel are contained in the shaft. On the back are its fins, pieces of metal that stick out like legs on a camera tripod. The RPG is the weapon of choice for many of the world's guerillas.

Luckily for Moss, the company medic Spc. Jared Angell, 23, who the soldiers call "Doc," was in his Humvee

[snip]

A Human Bomb The RPG that had plowed into Moss' lower abdomen stretched from one hip to the other. If the RPG went off, it would kill everyone within 30 feet of him. Yet Angell stayed close, bandaging his wounds and stabilizing the weapon so that movement wouldn't cause it to explode.

Moss was still fully conscious, so Angell ordered him to not look down at the injury. He didn't want Moss to panic.

[snip]

[NicknamedBob]

Bill Cosby said his dad told him, “Don’t worry about getting senile. If it happens to you ... you won’t know it.”

[Monkey Face]

If what happens to me?

[NicknamedBob]

Surprise! Happy Birthday!

[Monkey Face]

You talkin’ a me?

What was your name, again?

[NicknamedBob]

I’m Steve, your sex therapist.

Ready for your session?

[Monkey Face]

I thought you were here to give me lessons?

[NicknamedBob]

It works the same way.

[Monkey Face]

Ah. Which cookbook are we going to use?

[NicknamedBob]

Let's try this one:

[Monkey Face]

Ahyes...”101 Ways to Serve Chocolate In Bed.”

I thought I recognized that cover.

[sionnsar]

Well, I'm not quite sure how you do that, but it sounds like a nifty trick.
I'll bet it will save you lots of time and money on air flights, too.

LOL.

Yah, it would be nice but with my luck part of me would get lost going through the network routers. And there's an operation involved called "fragmentation" that could get dicey.

[NicknamedBob]

"And there's an operation involved called "fragmentation" that could get dicey."

Literally.

[sionnsar]

Always that cutting wit. You’re sharp, NnBob!

[NicknamedBob]

If you had to have me for company all the time, you’d work at entertaining yourself too.

[Monkey Face]

We do that here....;o]

[sionnsar]

If you had to have me for company all the time, you’d work at entertaining yourself too.

Oof! Very clever!!

[sionnsar]

How are you this afternoon, ‘Face! Better I hope...?

[Monkey Face]

I’m still wishing I were someone else, but it’s not as bad as it was this morning. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.

;o])

[sionnsar]

I’m still wishing I were someone else, but it’s not as bad as it was this morning. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.

I take it as a good sign. I for one am glad that you're you, because if you weren't you I wouldn't know to whom it was I'm talking. Or something like that.

But (seriously, and I know that's frowned on in the UT) I pray you'll be feeling better... several minutes ago. Or something like that.

[Monkey Face]

Time for night!

Later!