thedrifter
02-03-06, 08:44 AM
Wounded Soldier Speaks Out About Roadside Bombs
Written By Emily Schmidt 9 News
Last Updated: 2/2/2006 10:55:32 PM
The injury to ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff has focused new attention on a danger thousands of American troops face every day in Iraq, from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Woodruff is now being treated at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda after suffering head injuries on Sunday, when the convoy he was in came under attack.
The Maryland National Guard says five of its soldiers have been hit by IEDs.
One of them is Jim Bartholomew, whose ordinary dashboard view of western Maryland caps an unexpected journey over the past five weeks.
"Heroes may come and go, but soldiers stay. Keep your head up and stay positive," he says.
Jim is back in Cumberland after months at war. The Maryland Army National Guard sergeant led convoys through Iraq, dodging the dangerous IEDs that hit so many soldiers ... until Christmas Eve.
There was a blast. And before he and a medic could help, a second IED exploded.
Body armor shielded his spine, but shrapnel pierced his leg in many places. Through the pain, he called his wife and son in Cumberland.
Sgt. Bartholomew got medical care in Balad, from there he flew to Germany's Landstuhl Medical Center and then back to Washington. Thousands of injured soldiers have made the trip. This week, so did ABC's Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt.
Jim Bartholomew needs physical therapy, but his doctors promise the full recovery so many people here have prayed to see.
While Jim recovers at home in Cumberland, he is continually thinking of the other three soldiers injured Christmas Eve. One is on duty; the second is recovering in a Texas hospital. The third person, a Salisbury firefighter, is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
He dodged tragedy by inches to cherish the road home.
Written By Emily Schmidt 9 News
Last Updated: 2/2/2006 10:55:32 PM
The injury to ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff has focused new attention on a danger thousands of American troops face every day in Iraq, from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Woodruff is now being treated at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda after suffering head injuries on Sunday, when the convoy he was in came under attack.
The Maryland National Guard says five of its soldiers have been hit by IEDs.
One of them is Jim Bartholomew, whose ordinary dashboard view of western Maryland caps an unexpected journey over the past five weeks.
"Heroes may come and go, but soldiers stay. Keep your head up and stay positive," he says.
Jim is back in Cumberland after months at war. The Maryland Army National Guard sergeant led convoys through Iraq, dodging the dangerous IEDs that hit so many soldiers ... until Christmas Eve.
There was a blast. And before he and a medic could help, a second IED exploded.
Body armor shielded his spine, but shrapnel pierced his leg in many places. Through the pain, he called his wife and son in Cumberland.
Sgt. Bartholomew got medical care in Balad, from there he flew to Germany's Landstuhl Medical Center and then back to Washington. Thousands of injured soldiers have made the trip. This week, so did ABC's Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt.
Jim Bartholomew needs physical therapy, but his doctors promise the full recovery so many people here have prayed to see.
While Jim recovers at home in Cumberland, he is continually thinking of the other three soldiers injured Christmas Eve. One is on duty; the second is recovering in a Texas hospital. The third person, a Salisbury firefighter, is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
He dodged tragedy by inches to cherish the road home.