Let me introduce you to Sgt. 1st Class Juanita Wilson, who refused to allow a serious injury in Iraq to end her service to her country.

In August of 2004, Wilson was wounded by an IED.

"I started to feel this tingling in my hand Â… I looked down and that was when I realized OK, I don't have a hand here,'" Wilson said. A combat medic rushed over and began patching her up but the attack wasn't over. The U.S. convoy then got hit with small-arms fire. Other soldiers with Wilson began returning fire and radioed for helicopter gunship support.

Wilson and her driver were severely wounded and could only wait for the medical evacuation team to arrive. To Wilson, listening to the battle and waiting for the MEDEVAC seemed like "the longest amount of time."

Over the next four days, Wilson made her way to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where she spent the next year in intensive therapy and making many decisions about her medical care and the type of life she wanted to live.

Wilson was a unit supply specialist with the 411th Engineer Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Hilo, Hawaii. The unit had been building roads and infrastructure such as schools around Iraq since its deployment.

While recuperating at Walter Reed, one option Wilson would not consider was leaving the Army, despite the long road to recovery that lay ahead of her.

"From Day One, my decision was, 'I'm not getting out,'" Wilson said, adding that she still has things she wants to accomplish in the military. "My support channel has been there for me and I'd like to give that back to the soldiers of the future."

It took a year, but Wilson was cleared to return to duty. And on April 6, Wilson was one of 38 members of the US armed forces to reenlist in a ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol. She was not the only Iraq vet, nor was she only one wounded in combat. All, though, shared a devotion to their country and support for the mission in Iraq.

May God bless you, Juanita Wilson, and all your comrades in arms.

UPDATE -- 4/18/2006 -- The Washington Post has a fine article about women soldiers who have faced amputation due to war wounds. I encourage you to read the article about these American heroes.

Posted by: Greg at 11:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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