Soldiers Aid Iraqi Child Hurt In Attack

Soldiers aid Iraqi child hurt in attack
Medic evacuated boy to nearby medical facility

BY MICK WALSH
There was no question about the target of Tuesday's roadside bombing attack: the Bradley patrol in the Baghdad suburb of Jisr Diyala.

But for whatever reason, when the roadside bomb was detonated by insurgents, none of the soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team were injured.

The same cannot be said for the two children waving to the soldiers from their bicycles.

Capt. Darrell Melton, the 3-1 Cav's Troop C commander, described the bombing to Maj. Joe Sowers, the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team's public affairs officer Wednesday.

"The trail Bradley gunner was waving at two kids who were riding their bikes and were waving at my guys. The next thing the Bradley commander knew, one of the kids was gone in a puff and he was thrown backward in the hatch. When he looked back, the other kid was crawling on the ground."

The Bradley crew quickly dismounted their vehicle and cautiously approached the wounded child. It is not uncommon for improvised explosive devices to be placed in groups and detonated on first responders coming to provide aid. Fortunately, that was not the case in this incident.

"He (the wounded child) crawled a few feet, when the medic on site, despite the danger, ran out to him, picked him up and ran back to the Bradley to administer first aid," Melton said.

The medic was able to stabilize the wounded child and the crew then evacuated the child to a U.S. Army medical facility nearby.

Such incidents are not unique to Troop C. Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, came upon a grieving family in the course of a routine combat patrol last week in Salman Pak.

Capt. Chris Pearson of Birmingham, Ala., met with a local banking official in Salman Pak to discuss issues and prospective solutions concerning the banking industry in the area. After the meeting, a town councilman approached him with a father who had lost his son earlier in the day to a roadside bomb.

Pearson said he did not talk directly to the father, but the councilman explained the father just wanted to bury his son in accordance with Muslim tradition.

The councilman informed Pearson that the family was having trouble getting through checkpoints and requested U.S. assistance in traveling to the cemetery.

"Just to make it easier, we had them travel with us," Pearson said.

After dropping off the family, Pearson's element began movement to Combat Outpost Cahill, north of Salman Pak. While traveling to COP Cahill, Pearson's unit received word that the grieving family had run into another IED as they were returning from the burial. No one was seriously injured in the second incident.