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Soldiers relied on each other in deadly ambush in Mosul and face more struggles in its aftermath
BY SAMUEL BRUCHEY
As he watched his blood drip through the floor panels of the Army Stryker vehicle racing him to a hospital in Mosul, Spc. William Duran thought about his buddies.
That morning, he and six other soldiers - his closest friends - had decided to stop for a smoke along a narrow street. Their routine foot patrol was nearly over.
Then a car rolled up and blocked the entrance to the street behind them. Several gunmen opened fire.
One of the seven Americans was killed. Two others were paralyzed. A bullet shattered Duran's arm "like a potato chip." Only one avoided injury.
"Your brain doesn't let you think," said Duran, 25, of New Mexico. "It's all training, instinct, reaction. Then you snap to and realize what you've been through ... how important your friends are."[...]
Cindy McGrew recently flew down to Augusta, GA to spend a few days with Travis Majors. Provided below is the summary of her trip. Cindy also added some great photos of Travis to his album.
The following article describes a fundraiser to benefit the soldiers, and their families, that were injured or killed in an attack on September 14th in Mosul. The names of Jacob Demand, Scott Thorne, and Travis Majors are familiar to most of you, but the article provides updates on the other soldiers involved in the incident as well.
Link to Full Article (Photo included)
By: James Montalto
Mark and Barbara Vogl, originally from Long Island, will be hosting a charity fundraiser for Barbara's son, Sergeant James Wingate, and six fellow soldiers of the First Squadron-Fourteenth Cavalry of the United States Army who were ambushed and injured by insurgents in Mosul, Iraq on September 14, 2004.
(Email from Angel)
Evening Folks,
The kids and I just got home from another visit with Travis. 3rd time is truly a charm, not only did we have no incidents making it to the hospital, but we found Travis and Dorothy on the first try!!!
(Email from Angel)
Evening folks,
The kids and I went down to visit with Travis this evening. Once again, it was an adventure getting to see him. While we did go directly to the proper hospital this time, when we walked in to his room the bed was empty!
Even though Travis has been transferred to Georgia, I'm happy to know that we will still be able to receive periodic updates on his progress. Angel Moss (what an appropriate name!) and her family were able to visit Travis this weekend, and will hopefully be able to check in with him on a semi-regular basis. Provided below is an account of her visit, which includes a new "new" address for him. Thank you Angel!
Cindy sent me a couple recent emails (included below) with information regarding Travis Majors. He successfully made the trip from Walter Reed to a VA hospital in Georgia. Travis also gave Cindy the ok to share his new address with everyone.
Cindy was able to visit Travis Majors one last time before he was transferred to a hospital in Georgia. Michael Oreskovic (Jr.) was also there catching up with Travis. Provided below is the email she sent to us following the visit. We've also added a few more photos to Travis' album that Mike Oreo took.
Greetings everyone,
The last few days have been pretty hectic with a lot of ups and downs. Michael had surgery again today, so he was pretty out of it for the most part. However, he did get down the hall yesterday to visit with Travis Majors for a couple hours. After a few minutes it was like they were back in a Stryker in Mosul recounting some of the missions they were on. We decided to leave the two alone for some time together and I was surprised they talked for so long. Needless to say, it was a very emotional time for them both. Travis is leaving WR tomorrow for a hospital in Georgia that specializes in spinal cord injuries. Please keep this fine young man in your prayers, he has a long road ahead of him.
Cindy and her family have visited Walter Reed numerous times, and have developed a special relationship with many Stryker Brigade soldiers and their families, inlcuding Travis Majors. She recently sent a number of photos to me and we decided to create an album for Travis. Provided below are portions of the email she sent, which provide a good update on Travis' condition.
UPDATE: Cindy sent another email after her visit with Travis on Monday night - see below.
Hello all,
Michael received a direct order from a 1st Lt today and followed it to the letter.
Dear Friends,
A friend asked me some very good questions about Scott's injury which made me think I should explain things a bit better. I also have some new thoughts about how things happened. I'll start with answering his questions and I hope that will explain things better for us all. A good question always makes you think better and work harder to make your ideas understood.
Dear Friends,
As promised yesterday, some names. The last ocularist (maker of prosthetic eyes) and a very nice man is Vince Przybyla. The Stryker parents we met yesterday are the parents of LT Tissereau (I hope that spelling is correct) of First Platoon of B Troop.
On to today.
UPDATE: Steve has added a number of new photos to his album (pages 2 & 3), including pictures from the Purple Heart ceremony for Scott and Majors.
Dear Friends,
We knew we were going to have a busy day today, but no idea of how busy it would truly end up being. We had a meeting with administration about Scott moving on with his rehabilitation and wanted to make sure Scott got off to PT okay. He wasn't feeling all that hot, but decided to go anyway (good!). We left for our meeting as he left for PT.
Dear Friends,
As I arrived this morning, I saw an officer who had been very helpful to us when Scott was on another floor. He was happy to see me and asked if Scott was up for a visit in about a half-hour. I discovered that he was. The visitors were representatives from Huntsville, Alabama, Major General and Mrs. Pillsbury from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The general talked to Scott about the unit, the Strykers and about how he was being treated. The general appeared impressed and saluted Scott. (I've been working with Scott on saluting, but I guess he was a little surprised by this to return the salute.)
Dear Friends,
We arrived after the ten a.m. scheduled start of PT, so we decided to split up to see where Scott was. I went to the PT room while the ladies (I include Alyson in this category, of course) went to Scott's room. The PT guys said they thought Scott was supposed to be there today and have Sunday off. Back in the room it was thought he was supposed to have today off and go to PT on Sunday. It was sorted out soon enough and Scott went to PT. Things were pretty routine: Upper Body Cycle (I noted the correct name today--took me long enough), stretches, walking up and down stairs. However, the finish was anything but routine.
Dear Friends,
Sometimes, I forget to put everything in the update that happened and I get to correct it the next day. Today is one of those days. While eating lunch in the dining facility yesterday, I noticed the neurologist who showed me Scott's CT Scan on 9/23/04 (I think I described him as honored to do his best to heal the wounded than came his way). I told him about Scott's being up and walking with a walker (Ha! Yesterday's news...) and he asked how he was doing verbally. I told him he talks better on the telephone than in person and seems to be more polite with the please and thank yous. However, every once in a while lets loose with a blue streak. The doctor laughed and said, "That's disinhibition." He said the God of Neurology (actually, he used his professional name, LTC Armanda) was back over at Walter Reed for a week or two and was going to try to see him. That would be nice.
Okay, on to today.
(From now on we will be posting Steve's updates individually. You can view all entries related to Scott here.)
Dear Friends,
Today was a pretty good day. Amazing in places, even. Scott was up and finished with Occupational Therapy (OT) by the time I arrived. The speech therapists arrived sometime later and went for a short session just to make sure he got some work done before PT. Scott still has some trouble getting the right word out, but you know he knows the right word. Sometimes, he starts to draw it with his finger on his leg or on the blanket and you guess half way through. I can't say I noticed any significant improvement with speech today, but then I was out of the room most of the session so as not to distract him. The three of us peeked into his room at times and he was having an animated discussion with them every time. We're taking this as "good," especially since he's starting to gesture with the right hand more often. On a scale from Joe Friday to Joe Pesci, I'd say he's closer to Friday right now.
Steve, the father of a 1-14 CAV soldier, is someone I've come to know over the past year. He has provided me with invaluable advice, which I'll always be grateful for. Consequently, my heart skipped many beats on September 14 when I received an email from him informing me that his son, Scott, has been seriously injured in the same incident that took the life of SGT Demand. Very few details were available at the time.
Steve has allowed us to post his email updates as a way to keep those who know Scott informed of his progress. We don't often hear the stories of the wounded. As Steve mentioned in one of his messages to me, we might not hear the stories, "but they're getting great personal and medical attention from the staff here. Everyone has been wonderful to us. No exceptions. If you want to see dedicated staff helping our warriors recover, you can see it at Walter Reed every second of the day." As we mourn the fallen, let's also say a prayer for their wounded comrades.
These updates are listed in reverse chronological order. To read Scott's story from the beginning, scroll down to the September 14, 2004 entry and work your way up.
UPDATE: We have now created a separate category for Scott's progress reports. From now on we will be posting daily updates as individual entries rather than adding them to this one (it's getting too big!). Follow the link above to read the latest.