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Red Cross 'moms' dole out TLC

Jan-18-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARY BETH SMETZER, Staff Writer

Army Spc. Derek Reese is running two miles a day, building his strength and endurance after receiving a serious leg wound in Iraq. The 25-year-old hopes to rejoin his unit in Iraq next month.

After eight surgeries--and counting--to repair a broken femur and compound fracture of the ankle, Sgt. Reginald Cundy's military career is over. He plans to go to college and be "a desk jockey" once he's discharged.

Pfc. Kevin Lemieux, 18, can now feel his legs and walk on his own, but a shattered right hip keeps him in constant pain from a baseball-size wound. As he recovers, he is helping the rear detachment of his 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, by working the telephones.

All three soldiers, members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, were wounded by improvised explosive devices as they patrolled Rawah, Iraq, in their Stryker vehicles. They are recovering from their wounds at Fort Wainwright Army Post.

Reese of Bremerton, Wash., and Cundy of Hillsdale, Mich., both members of B Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, were in Iraq only 23 days when wounded. Reese's upper leg was badly sliced and Cundy, who sat in the rear of the vehicle, was injured when a following Stryker rammed them from behind.

Lemieux of Exeter, Maine, was standing air guard when his Stryker was hit about 45 days ago. He was ejected 20 feet in the air from the open port and landed in a mud puddle.


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