I am now a combat veteran. We got hit by and IED, and I’m not just talking about the Platoon either. I’m talking about our Humvee. It got hit. Me, I, we. We were within 10 feet of the thing. How we survived without a scratch, I don’t know. The Humvee wasn’t damaged and no one got hurt. No broken windshield, damaged body, no cuts or concussions. Thank GOD. We all made it in one peace. We pulled up right on the darn thing. We were just sitting there, then all of a sudden there it was, POW! I immediately got down. I knew we had got hit but I didn’t expect it to be so close. It had our name on it. We were engulfed in a cloud of smoke and debris.

Some of the guys in other trucks that saw it happen thought we were gone for sure. Some said that they couldn’t even see our Humvee at the time of the explosion. Some thought that our Humvee had got blown to pieces and thought that the turret was the hood of the vehicle. I couldn’t seen anything myself for a few seconds. It was freaking loud too. It was so loud I felt the vibrations in my chest. What can I say about it? It was like something exploded. Obviously.

I don’t see why T-Rex didn’t see it. I told him after it exploded too, “Didn’t you see it! It was right in front of you!” I was alright after a little while though. I regained my composure immediately since this wasn’t the first experience in the field. I still can’t believe that he drove right up on it. Unbelievable. And to have us all walk away like nothing happened, miracle. I don’t know why. That thing had our name on it. Heck we were right next to it and T-Rex and the Lieutenant had front row seats. They were facing the thing when it went off.

Devine intervention is all I thought about. That’s all I thought about all day. Hadji must be wondering what happened. I don’t know how and I can’t explain it myself. We were in a cloud of smoke. How could we just drive away, like nothing happened? Hadji probably thought we were laughing at him. Instead, I think we were all thanking GOD for giving us another day. How unbelievable. A miracle.

It’s changed my perspective on life. To be thankful for everyday we have. To cherish what we as Americans take for granted. Thanks be to God.