thedrifter
07-04-07, 05:08 AM
Published Jul 03, 2007 - 23:49:09 CDT.
Brundidge Marine recounts wounds received in war
By Jaine Treadwell, The Messenger
Marine Sgt. Shermandre Jackson stood in the middle of the street in Iraq. He was blinded and he was burning. He could hear other Marines calling him, but all he could think of was that he was going to be shot in the head by a sniper.
The day was Feb. 17, 2007.
Just a few minutes before, Jackson had been inside his tank, only 30 minutes from the end of the patrol. It was business as usual for the Marines inside the tank. Then their world literally blew apart.
“I heard the explosion, and initially, I thought it was an IED and I got on the radio to let my platoon sergeant know,” Jackson said. “He asked what was going on. I looked back at the EAPU and saw that it was burned to a crisp. I wondered how we'd been hit like that.”
The hit was not from an IED. It was an RPG, and when the warhead penetrated the tank, it caused explosions from ammunition inside the tank.
“I heard this hissing sound and I looked at my loader and asked, ‘Do you hear that?'” Jackson said. “Then I knew. I said, ‘Oh, my God.' But before we could get through the top, there was an explosion. My face and arms were burned bad, but it didn't scare me. I was just shocked.”
Before what had just happened could really register with Jackson, he heard the hissing sound again.
“I told my loader to tuck his head between his legs,” Jackson said. “There was another explosion. I had a magazine on my leg and it exploded on me. There was another explosion, and fire was coming inside the tank. If you can imagine a glass bottle with fire inside, that's what it was like in the tank.
“The loader was screaming and freaking out. He was young and wasn't ready for what we were experiencing. I'd been in the Marines for six years, so I was better prepared or as prepared as I could be.”
Flames were coming out of the tank like it was a chimney or burning barrel.
“The others thought that we were dead,” Jackson said. “They didn't see how we could not be. Then, they saw my head pop up.”
The Marines inside the burning tank bailed out through flames and immediately began to roll in an effort to put out the flames that engulfed them.
“I stood up, but I couldn't see. I heard my buddies calling me. They kept calling, and I made my way to their voices, but I could hardly get inside the tank. My hands were burned so bad and my vest was blown open.”
Jackson and the other injured Marines were pulled inside the other tank and then medivaced to Falujia.
“I remember looking at my arms, and they were completely white,” he said. “I remember hearing the voice of my commander. I kept telling him that I was sorry. I always thought that I could keep anything from going wrong and something had gone wrong. I remember him telling me that I was going to be all right. And, honestly, before then, I thought I was going to die.”
Jackson was flown to a burn center in Texas. He said he doesn't remember anything from Feb. 17 until Feb. 20. During that time, he thinks he experienced what death must be like.
“I don't want to die, but if I do, now think I have an idea of what it's like,” he said. “I feel like I have been given a second chance at life. Not in the sense that I've been given another opportunity to do things that I have not done before, but another chance to live, to breath and see again. It is a real humbling experience.”
More than 23 percent of Jackson's body was burned. He was hospitalized in Texas for four and a half months. He is home on 30-day leave but will return to the hospital in Texas to continue rehab that will enable him to regain range of motion in his fingers, hands and arms. The burns to his face are going to be left to heal naturally for a while, and then he will undergo plastic surgery.
Now he is fighting another battle - the battle to stay in the Marines.
“I joined the Marines because I'm a confident guy and I like to be around other confident guys and where better than the United States Marines. And, I love my country and I love what I do. I love mentoring younger Marines. I love training young people to do a job and to accept responsibility.
“I'm 24 years old. I'm not old, but I'm wise and I'm mature and that's because I've had other people to look after me and teach me and train me. Now, it's my turn to do that for others. That's why I'm fighting to stay active duty and, too, because I love being a Marine.”
Jackson said the greatest thing that can happen to him or to any of America's fighting men and women is for others to appreciate what they are doing.
“You just don't know what it means to have someone say ‘thank you for what you are doing,'” he said. “We are proud to serve our country, and I will fight with everything I have to continue to serve.”
Ellie
Brundidge Marine recounts wounds received in war
By Jaine Treadwell, The Messenger
Marine Sgt. Shermandre Jackson stood in the middle of the street in Iraq. He was blinded and he was burning. He could hear other Marines calling him, but all he could think of was that he was going to be shot in the head by a sniper.
The day was Feb. 17, 2007.
Just a few minutes before, Jackson had been inside his tank, only 30 minutes from the end of the patrol. It was business as usual for the Marines inside the tank. Then their world literally blew apart.
“I heard the explosion, and initially, I thought it was an IED and I got on the radio to let my platoon sergeant know,” Jackson said. “He asked what was going on. I looked back at the EAPU and saw that it was burned to a crisp. I wondered how we'd been hit like that.”
The hit was not from an IED. It was an RPG, and when the warhead penetrated the tank, it caused explosions from ammunition inside the tank.
“I heard this hissing sound and I looked at my loader and asked, ‘Do you hear that?'” Jackson said. “Then I knew. I said, ‘Oh, my God.' But before we could get through the top, there was an explosion. My face and arms were burned bad, but it didn't scare me. I was just shocked.”
Before what had just happened could really register with Jackson, he heard the hissing sound again.
“I told my loader to tuck his head between his legs,” Jackson said. “There was another explosion. I had a magazine on my leg and it exploded on me. There was another explosion, and fire was coming inside the tank. If you can imagine a glass bottle with fire inside, that's what it was like in the tank.
“The loader was screaming and freaking out. He was young and wasn't ready for what we were experiencing. I'd been in the Marines for six years, so I was better prepared or as prepared as I could be.”
Flames were coming out of the tank like it was a chimney or burning barrel.
“The others thought that we were dead,” Jackson said. “They didn't see how we could not be. Then, they saw my head pop up.”
The Marines inside the burning tank bailed out through flames and immediately began to roll in an effort to put out the flames that engulfed them.
“I stood up, but I couldn't see. I heard my buddies calling me. They kept calling, and I made my way to their voices, but I could hardly get inside the tank. My hands were burned so bad and my vest was blown open.”
Jackson and the other injured Marines were pulled inside the other tank and then medivaced to Falujia.
“I remember looking at my arms, and they were completely white,” he said. “I remember hearing the voice of my commander. I kept telling him that I was sorry. I always thought that I could keep anything from going wrong and something had gone wrong. I remember him telling me that I was going to be all right. And, honestly, before then, I thought I was going to die.”
Jackson was flown to a burn center in Texas. He said he doesn't remember anything from Feb. 17 until Feb. 20. During that time, he thinks he experienced what death must be like.
“I don't want to die, but if I do, now think I have an idea of what it's like,” he said. “I feel like I have been given a second chance at life. Not in the sense that I've been given another opportunity to do things that I have not done before, but another chance to live, to breath and see again. It is a real humbling experience.”
More than 23 percent of Jackson's body was burned. He was hospitalized in Texas for four and a half months. He is home on 30-day leave but will return to the hospital in Texas to continue rehab that will enable him to regain range of motion in his fingers, hands and arms. The burns to his face are going to be left to heal naturally for a while, and then he will undergo plastic surgery.
Now he is fighting another battle - the battle to stay in the Marines.
“I joined the Marines because I'm a confident guy and I like to be around other confident guys and where better than the United States Marines. And, I love my country and I love what I do. I love mentoring younger Marines. I love training young people to do a job and to accept responsibility.
“I'm 24 years old. I'm not old, but I'm wise and I'm mature and that's because I've had other people to look after me and teach me and train me. Now, it's my turn to do that for others. That's why I'm fighting to stay active duty and, too, because I love being a Marine.”
Jackson said the greatest thing that can happen to him or to any of America's fighting men and women is for others to appreciate what they are doing.
“You just don't know what it means to have someone say ‘thank you for what you are doing,'” he said. “We are proud to serve our country, and I will fight with everything I have to continue to serve.”
Ellie