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Subscribe to RSSAs a journalist, a frequent regret of mine is that we meet people and report their stories, but we seldom have the time to find out what happened next in their lives. There's rarely a "The End" in the news business.
After witnessing a life-changing moment for a young soldier in Afghanistan, some Associated Press photographers took the time to find out what happened next.
Rodrigo Abd / AP
A U.S. medevac helicopter arrives to evacuate Spc. Jeremy Kuehl, 24 of Altoona, Iowa, and from the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, who was seriously wounded when he stepped on an improvised mine near Command Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, July 30, 2010.
Photographers Rodrigo Abd and Evan Vucci spent weeks embedded with U.S. soldiers at COP Nolen, an outpost in volatile southern Afghanistan. Day after day, the soldiers at the outpost were fired on by insurgents. The photographers Photoblogged for msnbc.com from Afghanistan to report on the daily lives of soldiers, from the incoming RPG rounds to the quieter moments of humor and boredom among the men.
On July 29, the photographers woke to the sound of an explosion. Rodrigo Abd describes the scene:
At 6 a.m. on July 29, I had just woken up when I heard a huge explosion. Rushing outside, I saw a tall column of smoke just 20 meters (60 feet) away, and soldiers walking toward me carrying Spc. Jeremy Kuehl. His squad had been all set to go on patrol when it triggered a homemade bomb or IED, an improvised explosive device. PV2 James Stenett was injured in the face. Kuehl lost a leg.
As they waited for the rescue helicopter, the soldiers held a tourniquet to Kuehl's leg, assured him help was on the way, and fired a red flare to signal one of the few flat patches that could serve as a landing zone. Kuehl was in shock but remained conscious, answering the troops' questions. The mood was hyper-tense.
Rodrigo Abd / AP
U.S. soldiers carry Spc. Kuehl to a medical evacuation helicopter after he was wounded.
Months later, Associated Press photographer Emilio Morenatti met Spc. Kuehl stateside. Morenatti writes:
Sitting in a wheelchair at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the 24-year-old soldier from Altoona, Iowa, smiles as he stares into the computer screen and sees himself on a stretcher. Flipping from photo to photo, he narrates the last minutes of his war in Afghanistan, 11,000 kilometers (7,000 miles) away. His voice barely audible, he remembers the name and rank of each of the soldiers who got him to the rescue helicopter.
Then he falls silent, swivels in his wheelchair and goes to his room for some rest before his physiotherapy begins.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
Spc. Kuehl leaves his room for his physical therapy session at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington Aug. 31.
Kuehl knows that I'm a fellow patient, having lost my leg to an IED while on assignment in Afghanistan, and am back at Walter Reed for a checkup. He's curious to see my leg; is it computerized? I tell him I prefer a mechanical one, because the high-tech kind is apt to break down if you run.
On my visits to the amputee clinic over the course of six months, I have seen the number of patients swell as the war has ramped up. The physiotherapists and prosthetics makers can hardly cope.
Kuehl lies down on a spare bed and asks for a couple of weights to work out his pectoral muscles. "Before, I could lift more than 60 kilograms; now I barely can (lift) 15," he says as he struggles with the dumbbell. His left leg is a bandaged stump above the knee. His right leg, also injured, is in a splint.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
Spc. Kuehl writes an email at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
He returns to his bed and lies on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Sitting in a corner is his aunt Janice. The day before, he was visited by President Barack Obama, who gave him a Purple Heart, the medal for being wounded in combat.
Kuehl is with 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and its symbol, the Screaming Eagle, decorates his sweat shirt, the entrance to his room, and the Airborne's flag hanging on the wall. The Purple Heart lies on his bedside table.
The room is adorned with messages from relatives and friends. The one from Obama says: "To Jeremy, The Nation Is Proud Of You."
Janice Harbaugh / Walter Reed Army Medical Center via AP
President Barack Obama places the Purple Heart on Spc. Kuehl during a private ceremony at his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington Monday, Aug. 30.
Within 20 minutes of the explosion, the Medevac helicopter landed in a thick cloud of dust. Kuehl and Stenett were loaded on board. It took off just a couple of minutes later.
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Please remember these young men and women in your thoughts and prayers that have sacrificed so much for us. Remember their youth and how their lives have forever been changed. I am the mother of a soldier and I know what it is like to be worried constantly about your loved one. So, take a few minutes out of your busy day to remember those that are fighting so we can remain a free nation. Please remember that the cost of war in human lives and suffering is very high. Freedom is never free.
God go with you dear man, you are indeed a hero and deserving of the purple heart, god bless you for your service for me and this country. I am a ex airborne Viet Nam retiree and so proud of what my fellow soldiers do, by the way, I am one of the few females physically involved in that battle.
It horifies me that for 20 years I have been in control of what happens to my son and responsible for his safety and tomorrow he ships out for for his tour of duty where anything can happen to him and he will place his life in jepardy for his country. I spoke with him yesterday as he was filling out his will and designating his beneficiaries that I have been on this earth for 46 years and do not have a will of my own. I am having a hard time coping with the fact that he may not come home, or come home broken of disfigured. These soldiers put their life on the line day after day for their country. They all deserve respect and thanks for everyone here enjoying the freedom that they have fought for.
I am the father of a soldier in Afghanistan FOB Sabari she is also from 101st a Raskassan and I can't explain how proud I am of every soldier we have serving in our armed services. I never served and you young people with your bravery and courage make me wish I had. Keep up the good work and know that we back at home pray for your safe return every day. Thank you for all you have done and given. God bless each one of you.
I don't think there's a person in this country that doesn't think of our soldiers every day. They are constantly in our prayers. So don't you worry, Ms. Finley. We are behind them 110%. They won't be treated and forgotten like the Vietnam Vets. That will never happen again. What can we as individuals do for our soldiers and our wounded soldiers during this holiday season? If everyone sent one card or a small package, the soldiers would know how proud and concerned we are for them.
Being an veteran myself. These guys are laying it all out. I work in the ER room at our hospital and see these guys come in and their minds are shot. Everyone of our troops has and will loose a part of themselves over there. Our government spends billions of dollars training our sons and daughters and doesn't spend a damn dime on reprogramming them when they come back. I see at least 1 suicide a week or 4 - 5 attempts
I don't know, Kathi, words are cheap. It seems to me that during the Bush disaster, excuse me, administration, benefits were taken FROM not GIVEN to our guys and gals fighting for us in Iraq and Afgan. And the repeated deployments. And when they come back, there's not enough doctors, lack of asistance of all kinds to both them and their families. Their families are in this every bit as much. Kids missing their dads and wives missing their husbands and moms and dads missing their kids and worrying, every single second, worrying about their welfare. Somehow, somewhere, we've got to do better, way better. And I am taking that gentlemen's advise and writing my reps about bringing these guys homes and taking care of them when they do make it back.
Before you're so quick to point out one administration, be sure to know what the current administration is doing. Our benefits have been threatened and reduced more now than before President Obama took office. Heck, our pay even went down last year! Don't think that anything has changed just because of an administration change. Obama was the first one to suggest cutting military healthcare as a way to fund his pet projects. Don't be mad at the lack of doctors and resources when they're obviously not willing to fund more. MilitaryOneSource was actually created during the Bush era. It has been the single most useful resource to me when my husband came home with PTSD and help us adjust so that he is not only happy and living a normal post-war life, but helped us as a couple be strong and understand each other. At any time of the day I can call and will have someone on the phone ready to answer my questions. HUGE help when it came to PTSD issues... they don't wait till the morning for someone to talk to. So don't talk about things being cut when there are resources out there. Sure, some things got cut- but realize some things were added as well.
More troop support isn't on Obama's agenda. He talks about it after something happens, but never follows through, just like presidents before him. It's the name of the game. We don't do this for praise from the commander in chief, we do this because it's a country we love with fierce patriotism. Not just the ones that have gone overseas, but the ones who stay behind and silently support and actually feel the affects.
So please, before you're so quick to throw an administration under the bus, know the facts.
youre simply misinformed and spewing untruths.
you could say "look it up, its written right there" but like dealing with a lot of you Internet Politicians and Blogging Smart Guys, what would be the point? nothing Obama does or did or will or wont do will never satisfy you and your kind.
and "Sure some things got cut- but realize some things were added as well" is a trick statement. things that got "cut" can make or break some families. Just because its not your situation doesnt mean its bad or good.
Do not think for one second that MilitaryOneSource is not out to make money and protect their own asses. and dont think Bush created it because he didnt.
I'm uninformed? You didn't even read my statements!
Show me where I told anyone to "look it up"
Show me where I said that things that were cut made NO difference to families. Of course it affected people! They affected me, my friends, and the soldiers serving overseas and their families here at home. I never said otherwise! We just don't need to act like nothing positive happened! I'm not going to sit and focus on how much it sucks and I hate it. There's no point!
I never said MilitaryOneSource wasn't making money. I never said anything about money! I don't care how they're funded. I used an example that was created during the Bush ERA (NEVER said by Bush. Another place where you decided not to read. I'm sure he didn't even look at it before it went live. The Bush ERA means the time that Bush was in office as President of the United States. This will be known as the Obama Era. If it was created during the Obama Era, I would've said Obama Era.) MilitaryOne Source is something I pointed out for ME. Not every family out there. Not every situation. For ME. I never said beneficial to every soldier in every situation. I never said every family in every situation. I said for ME.
I was actually happy to see the picture of Obama awarding the Medal of Honor. That's an awesome thing to do and I'm glad he took time out to do that. Heaven knows there's been enough negative press around him not wanting to visit troops in hospitals. I love that it wasn't a big thing and that he didn't make a press conference about it. I can stand behind that.
Before you pass judgement on me and "my kind", try looking at what we actually say. Obama is just like the rest of them. A politician. And he's never served in the military so he doesn't get it. He won't get it. And that's just the way it is. Not like Bush was any different. But I won't sit here and bash on a single administration when clearly it's more than just one.
Every American can be proud of these heros. They are there so we can be free.
The best way to thank our military personnel male and female is for us to keep on our legislators constantly to see that they provide all the proper equipment to protect them best in battle AND keep on them constantly to make sure they pass and most importantly fund benefits for them and their families and appropriate and needed medical care when they return. Prayers are nice, but they are not action. I believe prayers need to be followed by action to see that care is actually given to these service people and their families especially the families of the fallen ones.
Twenty-five years a go on Public Television there was a series call WAR, produced in Canada and one episode was about Vietnam. A NV was interviewed and he explained a time when he killed an American in the jungle. A sad story but what he said has lasted with me ever since. He said "Everytime a bullet is fired, a mother cries".
I pray this world will someday realize that peace is the most important thing we can leave our children. And may we all strive toward attaining that goal soon. Amen....
These kids are our hero's, I know words don't mean much when you are looking at a stump that used to be your leg....But know this, many of us do care about you and the great sacrifice you have given for this country of ours. I thank all of you out there risking it all, from an old 11B.