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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! September 28, 2005 An Amazing Marine Wounded in IraqBy Holly AhoThis is the story of a marine you should know. His name is Kyle Anderson and he was wounded in Iraq last year when he was hit by an IED. He had been in Iraq for little more than a month when he was injured, and he had just turned 19. Let me tell you why Kyle is someone you should know. Kyle's story starts before he was injured - this background merely highlights why he is someone to know besides being wounded in Iraq. Kyle was the all-state wrestling champion in Minnesota the year he graduated high school. He is one of the few to be in the all-state championships 5 years in a row instead of 4. In eighth grade he was allowed to be in the championship because of his abilities. Kyle is not a big guy. He is about 5' 10" tall and maybe 175 pounds. But he is such a strong willed and strategic thinker that he excels anyways. Before leaving for Iraq Kyle's platoon had some sporting games on the beach in California. One of the competitions was wrestling. The matches were to 'hold and subdue'...basically wrestle till one of the opponents admits defeat. The winner moves to the next opponent. Kyle wrestled for more than 2 hours, with some opponents as large as 6' 8" tall and 250 pounds. He never lost. Kyle's unit suffered quite a few casualties while in Iraq, but morale hit a low when Kyle was injured. He was a hero to all the men in his group - for the stories mentioned above as well as his attitude, kindness and humility. Kyle was thought to be dead as soon as he hit the ground after the IED exploded. Once it was clear he had somehow survived the blast it was a sure bet he wouldn't last very long - and off he was sent to Germany for medical treatment. His unit mourned. Kyle's injuries were mainly to the back of his head. He ended up losing the entire left side of his brain after all was said and done. I had the privilage of meeting his commander, who was with Kyle when he was hit. Kyle was guarding a building at the time of the injury, and as his commander ran to him and held Kyle while waiting for transport he told me and Kyle's family that he thought Kyle would never make it. Kyle's injuries were gruesome and extremely severe...kind of like a shotgun blast to the back of the head. Kyle was stablized, but infections from shrapnel held his life hostage. Finally, in an effort to remove all infection and prevent further infection his doctors decided to remove the entire left side of his brain. Kyle was in a coma for months afterwards, but his will to live was incredibly strong. The prognosis for Kyle initially was grim. He might never wake, or if he does he might have extreme brain damage and never make a complete recovery. Kyle decided to prove everyone wrong. Kyle is fully conscious now, and is his normal self. He still has obstacles to hurdle, such as speech, reading and writing...but other than that his recovery is nothing if not amazing. Here's just one example - Kyle's parents were told by doctors that memory is stored in the left side of the brain, and since Kyle was now missing that part he surely had lost all memory of before. Kyle's doctors were wrong...Kyle has no memory losses, and his doctors are at a loss to explain how this is possible. The brain is an amazing machine. Kyle doesn't think he's a hero, and he'll get angry if you push the issue. He believes he was just doing his job. He has no regrets about joining the military, no regrets about serving in Iraq, and is not despondent over his injuries. He was there to do a job and he did it. To him 'heroism' doesn't fit in the picture. Of course Kyle is not happy that he has the injuries he does, but he doesn't blame anyone for them. I have been visiting Kyle in the hospital for about 7 months now. Despite his inability to speak, he can communicate quite well. I am honored to be able to visit him and call him a friend. If you are not a regular reader of my blog, Soldiers Angel - Holly Aho, you may not have heard of Kyle before. I highly recommend reading the following posts to learn more about him, he is inspiring! How I first me Kyle - How It All Began for Me, Journey of an Angel You can also learn much more detailed information about Kyle (including a photo) and his journey from injury to recovery here. These updates, written by his family, also give a clear idea of what it's like to have a family member injured while in Iraq. Posted by Holly Aho / September 28, 2005 4:02 AM | Permalink 3 Comments |
March 19, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/19/2003 [Greyhawk]
"Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world." Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow.... MILBOGSAndrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun. Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit. Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio? Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking. Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way. Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch! Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location: Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon. Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt... Iraqi BlogsSalam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house... Other BlogsCharles Johnson, Little green Footballs: SPEED BUMPS - I just had to go into Westwood (here in Los Angeles) and couldn't make it, because a small group of "peace activists" is blocking traffic and getting into scuffles with police. Unbelievable footage on local TV of these creeps taunting police, trying to grab their batons, sticking cameras into their faces... Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: How much more morally indefensible is appeasement when we also have complete international authority to do what must be done? I think we will look back in the future and not ask, as so many now are, how it was that diplomacy didn't get unanimity on this matter. We will look back and see the moral obtuseness of Chirac and Putin and Schroder and Carter and feel nothing but contempt for them, and their preference for state terror over the responsibilities of the free world. That's why I felt enormous pride tonight in the stand being taken by Blair and Bush. The president's speech was measured, firm, just. Blair's political risks - in order to do what he believes is plainly right - will confirm him in history as a great prime minister, the conscience of his party, and the leader of his country. I say that before this war begins, because the cause is just whatever vicissitudes of conflict await us... Glenn Reynolds has a ton of links. Other OpinionsMark LeVine, Alternet - 'Bush Wins': The Left's Nightmare Scenario: ...With war seemingly imminent, the movement is being forced to fall back on a second scenario, "Everyone Loses," in which the warnings of a protracted and bloody war that destabilizes the Middle East and increases terrorism bear their bitter fruit. However unpalatable in terms of destroyed lives and infrastructure, this latter scenario would at least quash the Administration's imperial dreams and force the kind of soul searching of United States' policies that is a major goal of the movement. But this outcome is less likely than many assume, and the antiwar movement would be well advised to plan for a third scenario: "Bush Wins." In this third scenario, the war is over quickly with relatively low U.S. casualties, some sort of mechanism for transitional rule is put in place and President Bush and his policies gain unprecedented power and prestige. From my recent conversations with organizers and their latest pronouncements, it is clear that this possibility has yet to be addressed. Waiting much longer could spell disaster for the antiwar movement... The social and political forces unleashed by the end of decades of Hussein's murderous rule will not easily be penned in by a US-sponsored show-democracy; but whether these forces use a reopened public sphere or turn to violence to respond to the likely betrayal depends in good measure on how adroitly the world progressive community can lay fast but deep roots in Iraq. Newpapers
Updating... more to follow.... |
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
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Words can not describe the awe I feel when I read this. Here is a person who has every right to be as bitter as the day is long, yet he's not.
My hat is off, my head is bowed in deep apreciation of him and those who fought as hard to save his life, as he fought so hard for us.
BRAVO ZULU!
Poor guy, I hope he recovers enough to lead a normal life.
I doubt the people who plant these bombs are even 1% of a person like him.
This guy sounds exactly like the "classic old-school marine" that my DI's talked about on Parris Island. The kind of Marine that everyone should aspire to be. God bless him.