…Time report to get some sense of what our guys are going through in Iraq. The first part is hard to read—it details what happens when a RPG tears through an armored vehicle. But you will marvel at the courage and sacrifice of our men, the best soldiers (and one hazards to say, some of the best people) in the world. The story focuses on Private First Class Tristan Wyatt, Sergeant Erick Castro, and Sergeant Mike Meinen, and what happened to their legs. Here is how the story ends:
“The three wounded soldiers are united not only in their good humor but also their unequivocal support for the war. Wyatt doesn’t much care for those who think Bush fudged the intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. `That makes you feel like you fought for nothing or you fought for a liar,’ he says. `They’re telling me I went out there and I got my leg blown off for a liar, and I know that’s just not true.’ Wyatt says he would stay in the Army if he could remain in a combat unit, but he knows that’s unlikely. So he’s considering college.
Castro says he just did what he signed up to do. `Someone has to do the job, and we did it,’ he says. `The price was my leg.’ He plans to return to college — his four-year hitch was up a week after he lost his leg — and marry his fiance Elizabeth Gonzalez, who quit her California job and moved to Washington to help him recover. Later this month, if all the paperwork comes through, Castro should reach another milestone: becoming a U.S. citizen.”