Wounded Guardsmen
Story by SGT Charles Ames; Photos by SGT Charles Ames and Ellen Banner of the Seattle Times, and Courtesy US Army - Posted Feb, 2004
Specialist Audra Hauer & Staff Sergeant Jeff
Elliott
Wounded in Iraq on 12 June
03
There are certain dates that hold special significance for people; birthdays, anniversaries, warranties, payments, playoffs, debuts, the occasional promotion.
There are two Washington National Guardsmen who can immediately recall a date that profoundly affected their lives.
For Specialist (SPC) Audra Hauer - a bouncy 19-year-old whose only desire was to go and serve her country - her moment of truth was June 12th 2003.
"I planned to be a star in Hollywood," she said with a wide smile. But the roll of history awakened the patriot within her, and she found herself on the way to Iraq. "I was studying about war and the people that died for our freedom and it was am inspiration to me, so thats why I joined the service."
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Shortly after her first drill weekend came the word that her unit (shown above, just prior to departing for Iraq, meeting with Governor Locke) had received an alert. Soon thereafter the entire city of Ephrata turned out to send off their hometown heroes. She did not know then that she would return somewhat earlier than her fellow Guardsmen, with a profound revelation of the world and her place in it.
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SPC Hauer found herself in Iraq with the 1161st Transportation Company, where she served as a assistant driver, alongside SSG Jeff Elliott from Moses Lake. Her vehicle is the new Palletized Load System (PLS) tractor-trailer (below).
Shortly after her arrival, SSG Elliott and SPC Hauer was driving along in convoy when she saw the vehicle in front of her swerve to avoid a black bag. SSG Elliott was behind the wheel at the time and tried to swerve as well, but the 5-ton tractor-trailer responded too slowly. They clipped the mine inside the bag.
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SSG Elliott, who was also injured in the explosion, recalls that "an orange flame blew SPC Hauer up to the ceiling of the cab and tossed her onto the doghouse where the transmission and controls were located."
The truck skidded off the road and lurched to a stop. SSG Elliott tried to take her out of the cab first from one side, then the other, but it was no use. He had to wait until help arrived to cut the doors open.
In an interview with Hal Burnton of the Seattle Times, SSG Elliott recalls; "I thought she was dead. The whole cab went dark. The next thing you know, there was a glow behind Audra." He called Hauer's name but heard nothing. He got out and yanked at the passenger-side door. It was jammed. He tried again. No luck. Frustrated, he reached into the cab and asked Hauer to take his hand. She responded, and they both prayed.
Another soldier arrived, and they pulled Hauer out and moved her to the median. SSG Elliott told SPC Hauer she would be all right, just like he had been trained to do. She didn't believe him.
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"She says, 'Yeah, whatever.' So then I started to get mad. I threw off my sunglasses, and I said, 'Audra, you are going to be OK,' and at this point she finally started to believe." (Seattle Times)
SPC Hauer sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, and owing to the sheer number of fragments, carries a few to this day. She has been very happy with her rehabilitation and states that she is often sent to the front of lines when the medical staff learns that she is a casualty from Iraq.
Both SPC Hauer and SSG Elliott were evacuated from Iraq and are now recovering from their injuries at the Medical Hold Company, Fort Lewis WA.
She believes she may be medically discharged from the military, but wishes she could return. I have seen things that will always be in my heart. I fell in love with the people.
Every person I met there said they had a family member that was killed by Saddam... everybody. I have seen such poverty and bondage.
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SPC Hauer has this to say of her experiences in Iraq; "If Americans could go there and see for themselves, I think their opinion of the war would change.
Both SPC Hauer and SSG Elliott were decorated for their actions.
Tech Sergeant Kevin Whalen, Wounded in Afghanistan on 19 July 03
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For Tech Sergeant (TSgt) Kevin Whalen of the Washington Air National Guard, his moment of truth was July 19th 2003.
When Kevin Whalen first considered a military career, he was torn between direct contact on the ground with the Army and following a tradition of family service in the Air Force which dated back to the inception of that branch, following World War II. Once he discovered the Air Force's Tactical Air Control Party (TAC-P), it was, in his words, the best of both worlds.
Also known as the "black berets" for their distinctive headgear (adopted long before the Army made its transition to the same), these highly trained special operations professionals are responsible for providing the close coordination between Army and Air Force units required to make the air-land battle happen. All experts in small arms, map reading, land navigation, field crafts and survival techniques. When deployed, they operate immediately alongside Army ground forces in forward areas, and that means they must have ground close combat skills not normally taught and honed in Air Force and Air National Guard units.
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As an Army Reservist herself, TSgt Whalen's wife supported his desire to contribute to the defense of democracy. When the call came for her husband to deploy to Afghanistan she knew he was trained and ready for the job.
TSgt Whalen had been "in country" for a couple of months when he found himself in a convoy headed into a habitually hostile area. As they moved along, a nearby airbase reported that they were under attack by rocket fire. The two Apache attack helicopters that were providing air cover for the convoy were temporarily called to support the base.
Ten minutes later the five-vehicle convoy was moving along a high ridge of rocky outcroppings on one side and a sheer drop on the other when they made contact.
They began to take fire from three sides. Ahead of his vehicle was a truck carrying friendly Afghan Militia Forces (AMF). TSgt Whalen saw one of the Afghanis get hit and fall from the vehicle onto the dirt road. The rest of the vehicles in the convoy were forced to stop in the "kill zone". Almost immediately, TSgt Whalen took a round just above his belt buckle. Miraculously, however, the bullet was stopped by his Kevlar body armor. He actually pulled the bullet out of his vest and tossed it to the floor.
Then TSgt Whalen climbed into the gunner's station atop the armored "Hum-vee", and manned the Mk19 40mm automatic grenade launcher. This weapon is similar to a machine gun, but fires an explosive 40mm projectile out to 2,000 yards!
With no enemy visible he lobbed rounds into likely hiding places. Suddenly his weapon jammed. He tried changing ammo, but was unable to get the launcher working again. Later he found that the weapon itself had taken six rounds, disabling it.
Then his luck ran out. TSgt Whalen felt something picking at his flak vest but hadn't realized it was the incoming fire until it flicked off his Gerber knife. He had just picked up his M4 rifle when a round struck his left arm, knocking him back down into the "humvee". He dressed his wound and handed another dressing to a wounded fellow TAC-P member.
TSgt Whalen called for air support, but learned that the nearest response was five minutes away. If they could just hold off the ambushers until then...
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AK-47s, machine guns, and other small arms chattered back and forth while the trapped convoy fought back and treated their wounded.
Five minutes later, a pair of Marine Harriers jets arrived. With the enemy only 100 meters away, bombs would have fallen too close to the convoy, so the Marines used their mini-guns. Hundreds of 25mm rounds from the jets stitched the attackers' position, sending them scurrying into retreat.
TSgt Whalen received the Purple Heart for his actions.
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Both of these Guardsmen have returned home to Washington. Both want to return to the fight. Both see the world in a far different light now, as a result of their experiences.
In peacetime being a Guardsman is a great part-time job. In time of war, however, being a Guardsman can mean much more. These Guardsmen came close to making the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and fortunately came home in one piece. Other Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen, active duty and Guard and reserves, have not been so fortunate. But there is a reason. In SPC Hauer's words, "If Americans could go there and see for themselves, I think their opinion of the war would change.
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