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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Tribute to Our Troops
Aired May 29, 2006 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special holiday edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Monday, May 29th.
Sitting in for Lou Dobbs is Kitty Pilgrim.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening.
Each week on this broadcast we highlight some of the truly remarkable men and women serving in our armed forces in 120 countries around the globe. Tonight, we'll introduce you to just a few of the dedicated men and women who make the United States military the best in the world.
We begin with a team of medics and flight crews who fly dangerous missions in Iraq to carry the wounded back to safety. They operate from an airbase in Balad, north of Baghdad.
And our Bill Tucker has their story from Balad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mission is flown five times a week.
MAJOR DAVID BALL, MEDICAL EVACUATION SQUADRON: When they get hurt and they need to get treatment, they need to go home, they need somebody to come and get them and we're proud, our team is proud, to go get them.
TUCKER: Team is the operative word. This C-17 belongs to the Mississippi Air National Guard. Its flight crew and medical team, a mix of Guard, reservists and active servicemen and women.
CAPTAIN SEAN FOSTER, 101ST AIRBORNE: Teamwork between all of the services, not just the Air Force and the Army but the Navy, the Marines, everybody works together.
TUCKER: That teamwork has cut the average time that it takes to get a wounded soldier back home to less than a week. During Vietnam it took 48 days. And teamwork is apparent in every moment of the mission. The first landing inside Iraq, cargo is unloaded. The second landing at Balad Air Base, the pace accelerates.
(on camera): What happens next is this C-17 is reconfigured from a plane that delivers supplies to one that picks up a cargo of a far different kind. COLONEL TIP WIGHT, VICE-WING COMMANDER: It's an incredible team and some great Americans doing great things. It's all about saving American lives.
LT. COLONEL RUSSELL PINARD, AEROMEDICAL SQUADRON: We have a 96 percent survival rate. If you get to our theater hospital alive, you have a 96 percent chance of making it.
TUCKER (voice-over): Those critically wounded travel with a mobile ICU and a team of three doctors.
MAJOR CELIA ENTHWHISTLE, N.C. AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Sometimes things go south up at 35,000 feet. So you have to be prepared for that, and try to plan for all of the bad things and the good things that can happen.
TUCKER: The Mississippi Air National Guard has flown more than 130 missions since the start of the war.
COLONEL WILLIAM HILL, MISSISSIPPI AIR NATIONAL GUARD: We're real proud to be able to fly this mission. And, I mean, it's -- there's nothing better out there. This is great people.
TUCKER: Bill Tucker, CNN, Balad Air Base, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Two Air Force captains led their crews on another extraordinary rescue mission and earned the prestigious Clarence Mackay aviation trophy for their efforts. They flew through a blinding sandstorm in Iraq to rescue five soldiers.
Casey Wian has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Air Force captains Bryan Creel and Robert Wrinkle have trained for years for this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we have the heroes from the two HH60 crews being awarded the prestigious Mackay trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year. A flight that occurred April 16, 2004.
WIAN: As combat search and rescue pilots, it was the rescue of a lifetime. A Chinook helicopter crashed in a sandstorm, five soldiers on board. Creel and Wrinkle were tapped to lead a mission to rescue or recover.
CAPT. BRYAN CREEL, U.S. AIR FORCE: It was tense. Previous experience with some sandstorms in Afghanistan was not good. So had some hesitation there.
WIAN: Each flew a Pave Hawk Helicopter with a team of rescuers on board. They navigated through hostile territory, found the crash site and spotted survivors. CAPT. ROBERT WRINKLE, U.S. AIR FORCE: They were all huddled together. They were waiting on us. They had their radio out trying to communicate with us, unfortunately it wasn't working.
We couldn't get communications with them until we actually landed. The wreckage was only 500 meters away. So that is about five football fields away. We couldn't see it because the visibility was so bad.
WIAN: Flying under the vicious sandstorm with no visibility Creel and Wrinkle made two harrowing approaches, knowing they, too, could crash at any time.
CREEL: I was using an infrared light to shine out in front to where we could actually see where we were going. As soon as I got down, I centered all the controls, and I looked up to about where we're standing right here, and there were the survivors no more than about 25 yards away.
WIAN: Wrinkle landed safely as well. The survivors luckily weren't injured and were quickly picked up. But back in the air they came under attack.
WRINKLE: As I'm descending down and turning behind that tree line, P.J. on the right side. Matt he seized what we believe to be an RPG go out the right-hand side. It was on a straight trajectory missing the aircraft. In that turn and almost immediately Sergeant Silver (ph), out my gunners window, he sees two corkscrews come up from that town behind him and come toward the aircraft.
Those having missed, we turned to the north to try to get some separation. Now everybody is up in the cabin looking outside to our rear to see if they can see anything coming. Sergeant Silver is now leaning out this window to look to the rear. And they identify two more corkscrews coming up out of that town.
WIAN: They fired 50 caliber weapons at the enemy on the ground. The missiles missed, and they finally made it to safety.
CREEL: I have flown in desert storm, flown in Afghanistan, flown in Iraq a couple times as far as deployments. And this one definitely was the top one, I would say if you want to call it that just based on the environmental factors that we had and the challenges and also the enemy was out there in force trying to bring us down.
WIAN: As Mackay trophy winners, Creel, Wrinkle and their teams join the likes of Chuck Yeager and James Doolittle in aviation lore.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: After they are carried off the front lines, many troops wounded in Iraq are brought to a hospital in Baghdad. Military doctors and medical teams there work every day to save the lives of American troops wounded, often very severely, in combat. Ryan Chilcote reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baghdad's combat support hospital is about to get busy. Information on the incoming is scant, nuances important.
DR. DAVID STEINBRUNNER, LT. COL. U.S. ARMY: The reporter were two that are urgent, and there sounded like there was some nervousness in the voice of the people calling it in, originally.
CHILCOTE: Colonel David Steinbrunner is the on-duty doctor.
STEINBRUNNER: We won't really know until they get to the door.
CHILCOTE: And in a war zone, even the most seasoned doctor can be surprised at what comes through that door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap.
CHILCOTE: The triage begins. The walking wounded goes to a nurse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a medic.
CHILCOTE: Next door in the E.R., Steinbrunner is beginning his initial check on the soldier brought in on the stretcher. At first glance, things aren't looking good.
STEINBRUNNER: He's real pale, guys.
CHILCOTE: Through an oxygen mask, though, the soldier manages to mumble a message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please don't let me die.
CHILCOTE: The doctor relays it to the team.
STEINBRUNNER: He said, "Please don't let me die."
CHILCOTE: In return, he gets the doctor's word.
STEINBRUNNER: I promise. I wouldn't lie to you. Don't you care try to die on me, OK? I didn't give you permission.
CHILCOTE: He's just as honest when the soldier asks if he can save his leg.
STEINBRUNNER: I don't know. That I don't know, OK? We'll try to save it if we can, OK? I just don't know. I can't give you an answer to that yet.
CHILCOTE: Also at the soldier's side, a chaplain. The anesthesia is administered but the soldier still stirs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we've got to put him down. The poor guy is waking up through all this.
CHILCOTE: Then another call rings out. More are on the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two more inbound, two minutes.
CHILCOTE: But for this soldier, it's too late. They have been doing CPR on him for a half-hour. Five minutes later, he's pronounced dead.
In all, four soldiers were brought to the hospital after a bomb hit their vehicle. Private First Class Victor Vicente (ph) was behind the wheel. He's on the phone home. He doesn't tell his wife what happened to the others. That's the military's job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a cut on my head but it's not a big problem.
CHILCOTE: But he won't be going home.
STEINBRUNNER: Hey, I hate to you this, but basically you're RTD, return to duty.
CHILCOTE: The casualties are separated only by curtains. There's little privacy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that guy over there is getting a needle in his back.
CHILCOTE: Take this day and turn it into every day, and you have Dr. Steinbrunner's routine since he arrived in Iraq.
STEINBRUNNER: It seems like it's been a long time but it's only been, you know, six or seven months.
CHILCOTE: With this system of medical care, U.S. servicemen and women are now twice as likely to survive wounds that would have killed in Vietnam.
STEINBRUNNER: Ready. Where do you push so far? You put a little ...
CHILCOTE: Today, that soldier is in the E.R. The x-rays are back.
STEINBRUNNER: There's no free air.
CHILCOTE: And they're looking good.
STEINBRUNNER: Sweet. Sweet.
CHILCOTE: He's stabilized and ready for the operating room. Dr. Steinbrunner's job is finished for now.
STEINBRUNNER: He may lose an arm or a leg. He may save it, I don't know.
CHILCOTE: But Steinbrunner kept his promise.
STEINBRUNNER: He lost a lot of blood on the field so -- but he's a young, healthy guy so he was compensating. And that's why he could talk and maintain and everything like that. But you could see the color of his skin. I mean, he was pale. He was definitely looking very, very sick.
So now I'm going to take care of his buddy. Thanks.
CHILCOTE: Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, one soldier's inspiring story. He says he's living the American dream by serving this country.
Also ahead, a group of Marines wounded in battle find a new place to call home.
And General David Grange will talk us to talk about the American public's support for the war, the strain on our military, and the challenges that lay ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Welcome back.
Tonight we're paying tribute to some of the men and women who serve this country proudly in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. We have two remarkable stories of heroism, two men who won one of this country's highest military honors, the Silver Star.
We begin with Marine Captain Christopher Bronzi, who led his troops with a showdown with insurgents in Iraq.
Peter Viles has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, save your ammo until you've got a target.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 6, 2004, the Marines of Golf Company were badly outnumbered. Part of the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, they had been sent to Ramadi to put down the rising insurgency.
Captain Christopher Bronzi was the Gold Company commander, confident his young Marines were equal to the task but concerned about mounting casualties.
CAPT. CHRISTOPHER BRONZI, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I was just trying to keep them focused on the fight at hand because every individual Marine, their combat meant something.
VILES: As Bronzi led his men into the city, they were surrounded, outnumbered, at risk of being pinned down by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The fire fight would last for two days.
BRONZI: I ultimately wound up echeloning my entire company into the fight. And because the fight grew, you know, the numbers vary. I know the amount of enemy that we confirmed that we killed was well over 300.
VILES: In the middle of the shooting, Bronzi boldly put himself in the line of fire, leading a group of Marines into an exposed street to recover the body of a fallen comrade.
BRONZI: I was very proud of my marines, especially with the intensity of the combat, how they performed. The entire company was in the fight on the first day. That night they cleaned up their weapons, they restocked their ammo, and they went right back outside the gate the day for virtually the same scenario.
VILES: Bronzi credits his men, but the secretary of the Navy has now credited Bronzi for his leadership of those men. His citation describes "zealous initiative, courageous actions, and exceptional dedication to duty."
BRONZI: That was the most professionally rewarding experience of my life because I feel like I saw the Marine Corps in its finest hour, at least my little piece of the Marine Corps.
VILES: Peter Viles for CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Captain Bronzi returned home safely in September of 2004 and continues to serve the nation in the United States Marine Corps.
Now the story of Master Sergeant Sarune Sar. Sar was shot in the head when his Special Forces unit came under fire in Afghanistan. He survived and went on to receive a Silver Star.
Philippa Holland has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIPPA HOLLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Master Sergeant Sarune Sar left war-torn Cambodia for the United States in 1981. He was 14 years old. He learned English, graduated from high school, and in 1985 joined the Army. A year later, he became a U.S. citizen.
MASTER SGT. SARUN SAR, SPEC. OPS CMD. PACIFIC: I spent some time as an infantryman until I got my citizenship and clearance to attend Special Force training. Been in Special Force since 1992.
HOLLAND: Last spring, during a second tour in Afghanistan, Sergeant Sar was leading a 12-man Special Forces team on an aerial reconnaissance mission in the mountains near the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.
He and his team saw a suspicious building, and when their helicopters landed, they came under fire. With half his men pinned down by the enemy, Sar ran toward the building
SAR: The enemy combined shot at me first from some 10 feet with an AK-47. The bullet entered right here. Knock out my chinstrap. Just kind of gave me a little ring in the head but didn't kill me.
HOLLAND: He and another soldier secured the building. They joined the rest of the team to defeat the remaining enemy forces. None of Sar's men lost their lives in the battle. For his heroism and bravery, Sergeant Sar was awarded the Silver Star.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, Silver Star winner.
SAR: It's an award to my team not just me. And I feel as a team, this is for us. And it's an honor.
HOLLAND: Sergeant Sar could retire today, but he has no plans to leave the military.
SAR: Serving in the military is my way of thank you for allowing me to be here, to be an American. And I personally believe it is a small price. Small price to pay. I will do it again if I'm 18.
HOLLAND: Philippa Holland, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Master Sergeant Sar completed his Bachelor's Degree. He majored in American history. We wish him the very best.
Well, coming up, the story of a third-generation military man who has dedicated two decades to serving this country.
And Operation Helmet, how a small kit is saving the lives of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and why its private citizens provided them, not the military.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Marine Colonel Rickey Grabowski is a more than 20-year veteran of the military. His skill and bravery in Iraq earned him a Bronze Star.
Lisa Sylvester has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marine Colonel Rickey Grabowski's commanding officer has put him in the same league as General Patton. Grabowski led the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines on the charge to Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Their mission, to seize the bridges of Nasiriyah, where all the major roads in southern Iraq converge. Military analysts said they would find light resistance. But instead, gunfire rained down on them.
COL. RICKEY GRABOWSKI, U.S. MARINE CORPS: First, you could hear a pop here and there. And then within like 10 minutes, it was like it was popping all over the place.
SYLVESTER: On March 23rd, they fought for 17 hours straight.
Grabowski is a military man. He has spent more than two decades in the military as an enlisted Marine and as an officer. It's in his blood. One grandfather was a Marine; the other a soldier, as was his father.
His training helped him lead even when communications broke down and his battalion encountered the unexpected. Outside of Nasiriyah, they came across members of the ambushed 507th Maintenance Company. They were told more American soldiers were trapped in the city.
GRABOWSKI: You leave no one behind. And had those been Marines up there, and that had been an armor -- Army brigade or an Army battalion, they would have done the same thing for us.
SYLVESTER: They assisted U.S. Special Forces during the rescue of Private 1st Class Jessica Lynch. Grabowski received the Bronze Star with valor, but he wears it not for himself but for his entire battalion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ask for your blessing, God almighty.
SYLVESTER: Eighteen of his Marines were killed in the battle of Nasiriyah, and 15 wounded.
GRABOWSKI: And in the end, they were successful. Yes, we did pay a price, but we accomplished that mission, and that's the thing that I'll remember about those Marines and sailors probably until the day I die, of what they did, their sacrifices and their service.
SYLVESTER: Lisa Sylvester, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The Marines who served under Colonel Grabowski in Iraq have received remarkable decorations. Those decorations include two Navy Crosses, four Silver Stars, and numerous other awards, including the Bronze Star.
We wish to congratulate Colonel Grabowski for a job well done.
Coming up, a unique military barracks for Marines who share an unfortunate common history. It's a barracks where wounded warriors can come together and help one another recover.
And Operation Helmet. We'll talk to a private citizen who took it upon himself to improve on the military's standard helmet, and we'll tell you how his idea is saving the lives of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Welcome back. Tonight we're honoring our men and women in uniform serving this country around the world.
At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, there is an extraordinary unit of troops who were wounded in combat. Instead of going home, they've come together at a special barracks where they can learn from one another as they recuperate.
Barbara Starr has the story from Camp Lejeune.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, just a couple of things.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is morning formation for wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They sit because some cannot stand.
Glenn Minney struggles with a Mother's Day card. A mortar damaged his eyes, but this medic is still the doc.
PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS GLENN MINNEY, U.S. NAVY CORPSMAN: That's my job. I'm going continue to do it as long as I can, blind or not.
STARR: In this remarkable place, Marines help each other just as on the battlefield.
GUNNERY SGT. KEN BARNES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I have a leg injury and I can't get, you know, I can't get my room vacuumed. Well, one of the guys will be like hey, yes, no problem, I've got you. You know, you're still required, with a leg injury, to keep your clothes picked up and all your trash picked up.
STARR: An IED left Gunnery Sergeant Ken Barnes with nerve damage. He knows Marines don't want to need help.
BARNES: That's one of the things that's really nice about this place is you can say, hey, can you give me a hand? And they are immediately on it. There's four or five guys that will be standing there waiting to help, but you've got to ask for it.
STARR: Sergeant Karl Klepper's ankle was crushed by a roadside blast.
KLEPPER: We're all broken up. We're all beaten up here, but we're not broken. You know, our spirits aren't broken.
CHRIS, 1ST GRADER: He helps me at math. His name -- we call him Sergeant K.
STARR: As part of their rehab, Klepper and others help at the base school.
(on-camera): The Marines here today and these children have an unshakable bond perhaps only they can understand. Many of these young students now have parents serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
BRANDON, 1ST GRADER: The Marines help us think about what we can write about and what we can help, so we can do good at math and writing.
STARR (voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel Tim Maxwell has a brain injury from a mortar attack. He started the barracks so Marines could recover together.
LT. COL. TIM MAXWELL, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They come here, stay for just a couple of days and see other Marines who are wounded and how far they are in life instead of going home with their mom and dad and wondering, I wonder what it means to get shot in the leg. I don't know what that means in three months. Here, he'll see.
STARR (on-camera): The Marines see this extraordinary unit will keep going as long as any wounded warrior needs a place to recover.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
PILGRIM: Walter Reed Army Medical Center reports that head wounds are responsible for 65 percent of all injuries and deaths suffered by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. A simple helmet upgrade kit can prevent many of those injuries and deaths. Former naval flight surgeon Bob Meaders launched Operation Helmet to provide free helmet upgrades to our troops. Dr. Meaders spoke with Lou Dobbs and explained how the project began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. BOB MEADERS, OPERATION HELMET: My grandson was a young lance corporal in the Marines, and while he was being trained for convoy duty, a gunnery sergeant just back showed him the helmet with the upgrade in it, said you guys need to get these because it could save your life. And so, my grandson called me up and said, check this out for me, and I did.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: So you turned to some folks who designed those and built them. And why did you find it necessary to have to buy them for our troops?
MEADERS: Well, the Marine Corps did not seem to have the funds to equip the helmets. They're authorized to get this upgrade, but there were no funds actually allocated for it. So we decided to step in, as private citizens, and do what we could to help fill the gap.
And my grandson got his kit and his rifle team did. They loved it so much; they said we'd really like to have one, but we can't do it unless our whole company gets them. So we set out to equip 100 people to start with. And now it's sort of grown from there.
DOBBS: Doctor, the number of lives that these helmets could save, it's a significant number. What's the Department of Defense's reaction? Why aren't they getting these helmets to our troops?
MEADERS: Well, the Army has done that. They made the decision several -- or two years ago to purchase helmets that have the same ingrown, or if you will, factory-installed technology that we have. And they, however, have run out of inventory, so they're back to the old-style helmet as well. The Marines say that they spent their dime on a new, more bulletproof helmet that works well for everything except IEDs and impact.
DOBBS: The leading cause of death in Iraq.
MEADERS: The Air Force simply...
DOBBS: Well, Doctor, where can people go if they want to help you out and help our troops, particularly the Marine Corps over there, who still need this equipment?
MEADERS: Well, we have a Web site, operationhelmet.org, and we go into some length about what's happening and why it's happening and how we can help, and what folks can do to help us. The American public has been absolutely great about responding, to the point that we've now sent over 6,000 helmet upgrades to the troops, which is a significant percentage of those on the front line in combat.
DOBBS: Dr. Robert Meaders, we thank you very much. All the good you're doing our young men and women over there. It's always a pleasure to talk to an American like you, sir. Thank you.
MEADERS: Thank you, Lou.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: If you'd like more information on Operation Helmet, or to make a donation, the Web site is operationhelmet.org. Or you can find that information on our Web site at LouDobbs.com.
Other high-tech advances are also saving lives in the war zone. A new bandage made of natural material is increasing the survival rate of troops wounded in the field. Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll just have you warm up with the heat, loosen up your ligaments before we start cranking on you.
SPECIALIST ANDREW DONEHOO, U.S. ARMY: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.
DONEHOO: Hopefully it will be better than last time.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Walter Reed Army Hospital, Specialist Andrew Donehoo is on a slow walk to recovery after taking a bullet to the knee in Iraq.
DONEHOO: A few snipers in the surrounding buildings and there was a little bit of a firefight, and I got hit.
MCINTYRE: Knee wounds are painful, but usually not fatal. That is, if medics can quickly stop the bleeding. Which, in Andrew's case, they did, using a new high-tech bandage that is coated with a compound found in, of all things, shrimp shells.
DONEHOO: I had no idea.
MCINTYRE (on camera): Do you eat shrimp?
DONEHOO: I do eat shrimp.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): Seth Grant is a former army medic, who went to work for Hemcon, makers of the hemorrhage-control dressing, after using its product to save lives in Iraq.
SETH GRANT, HEMCON NATIONAL FIELD SALES TRAINER: The other thing that really turned me on to it, seeing it used, was just how quickly it was able to adhere to the wound bed and stop the bleeding.
MCINTYRE: Uncontrolled bleeding is the leading cause of death from battlefield injuries. What makes the shrimp shell compound in the bandage so effective is that it becomes very sticky when it comes in contact with blood, quickly sealing the wound. Then it attracts red blood cells, forming a tight clot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we can just pack a wound cavity and have it stop bleeding, which is a significant advantage and leads to a lot more survivability in the battlefield.
MCINTYRE (on camera): The army says every soldier in Iraq has a bandage like this now. Even smells a little bit like shrimp, but the company insists it's safe, even if you have a shrimp allergy. A new thinner, more flexible version is coming to a local drugstore near you soon. And while this may seem like a small thing, its advances like this that are a big reason more U.S. troops are surviving serious wounds in Iraq, than in any previous war. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Coming up, a 26-year veteran of the Marines deploys to Iraq for a second time, with a changed outlook on the war. We'll hear his story and two of the harrowing experiences he survived.
And troops on the border, can we sustain our commitments abroad and at home? General David Grange will join us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Al Asad, Iraq is near the Syrian border. It's a forward- operating base for American troops in Iraq. One Marine gunner at Al Asad learned painful lessons on his first deployment to Iraq, and now he's back to a second deployment with a new perspective on the fighting. Alex Quade has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chief Warrant Officer David Dunfee fought in the battle of Nasiriyah two years ago. He's now in Al Asad, his second Iraq war deployment.
(on camera): So this is your silver star?
(voice-over): Dunfee earned it for moving his marines through Nasiriyah and dealing with a friendly fire incident.
CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER DAVID DUNFEE, USMC: I'm not any kind of hero. The marines that I was with that day, they're the heroes.
QUADE: Eighteen marines died that day. We were at their battlefield service.
DUNFEE: There's grief, yes. It's heart-rending, yes. It's gut- wrenching, yes. But you have other marines' lives at stake. I've got to focus on those other guys, the ones that are still walking around. So you learn from it.
QUADE: Learn, and live to fight again. Many in his platoon today were with him then.
DUNFEE: In combat, you kind of just go to what comes natural. You have a job to do and you just don't think about it. There's no way you can prepare mentally for the horrors of combat.
QUADE: His first week back, his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
DUNFEE: There was a bang. All I remember is the bang.
QUADE (on camera): So the armor plating on the humvees saved your lives, but you were injured?
DUNFEE: Saved our lives. We were injured. But everybody walked away. Welcome to Iraq.
QUADE (voice-over): He says insurgents are making bombs from stockpiled ordnance like what he showed us two years ago.
DUNFEE: You cannot fathom the amount of ordnance that was just everywhere. And you can imagine now the things that we're dealing with are those same issues. This whole country was an ammo dump, and we are cleaning those things up as we find them.
QUADE (on camera): What is the most important thing for Americans and families back home to know about Nasiriyah and the lessons learned there?
DUNFEE: Ask the people who are here doing the fighting and doing the dying, and you will hear from them that they feel the mission is sound, and they understand why they are here. They understand why casualties happen, because that happens in doing a tough job like this.
QUADE (voice-over): Dunfee expects a third tour in Iraq next year.
Alex Quade, CNN, Al-Assad, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Chief Warrant Officer Dunfee has been a Marine for 26 years. He plans four more years before he retires from the Corps. We wish him well.
Well, another one of the men doing a difficult job in Iraq is Lieutenant Colonel Ross Brown. Brown and his soldiers patrol the streets of what is known as the triangle of death. They are looking for the number-one killer of U.S. troops in Iraq -- roadside bombs. Aneesh Raman reports from northern Babil province, Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. COL. ROSS BROWN, U.S. ARMY: Yeah, four (inaudible). Come in, (inaudible). Listen up, please.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like the soldiers he commands, Lieutenant Colonel Ross Brown suits up daily, trying to rid his area of roadside bombs.
BROWN: Whenever you roll out of the gate and you're out there operating, you don't know if you're going to hit one of these or not.
RAMAN: The first stop today is Route Tampa, some of the worst stretch of highway in what's called the triangle of death, where these stall owners, Brown's told, are aware of impending attack.
BROWN: Did you know in advance that the IED was going to go off there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No.
BROWN: Tell him to look me in the eye. And tell me that again.
He's lying.
RAMAN: It is a fine line to walk, routing out information without creating new enemies, battling an insurgency that kills at will, that turns civilians into accomplices.
BROWN: They're scared to death. I think they see us as temporary and they got to live with those people forever.
RAMAN: Finding friends locally seems the toughest part of Brown's strategy, but his next task proves just as difficult.
(on camera): Here, the lieutenant colonel has stopped at one of the firm bases, one of the areas that Iraqis are manning their own position. (voice-over): The commander on duty emerges out of uniform, and the lieutenant colonel struggles to find progress.
BROWN: They didn't do too much work yesterday, they didn't do too much work the day before. They haven't done too much work since they've been here.
RAMAN: Brown is unsure if this unit can survive an insurgent attack. Uncertainty shared by the U.S. forces as well. Each soldier with his own way to cope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Morales (ph), are you carrying anything special with you on a mission to help you out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I carry my wedding ring, (inaudible) my wife sent me. I carry the Bible. Psalms 91.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A picture of an angel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Archangel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I carry this packet my kids gave me. See what my daughter -- "daddy, I love you, I miss you, be safe, come home ASAP." Isn't that cool?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, let's go.
RAMAN: Overhead, helicopters are responding to an IED attack that moments ago killed Colonel William Wood, the highest-ranking U.S. officer to die in combat in Iraq. A personal friend of Brown's. An added personal reason why tomorrow he'll be suiting up again.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, northern Babil province.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: There are 130,000 American troops in Iraq, and there are 23,000 in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands more deployed around the world this Memorial Day. More than one million soldiers have died protecting this country's interests.
And joining me now is General David Grange. General, with so many of our troops deployed, what do we, as Americans, need to appreciate about the significance of Memorial Day?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think what's important here, Kitty, is that American soldiers, from all services, have committed and sacrificed lives for the last over 200 years, from the Revolutionary War on, and we continue to do so today. And it's a commitment that sometimes we forget about when we have a three-day, four-day holiday that goes around, let's say, Veterans' Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, those type of things. But in this case, specifically Memorial Day, which is in honor of those that have given their lives.
PILGRIM: Let's talk about Iraq; 2,400 dead in Iraq so far. Do you believe that the country is willing to continue this incredible sacrifice?
GRANGE: Well, the nation has the will to commit and to continue to commit, as it has for over 200 years. But what the people are concerned about is this most precious resource, its people, that they send into combat. And that will is only maintained to continue with a war like this if, one, if they believe that it's worth it, that the leadership has a comprehensive plan to accomplish that mission, and that they're resourced properly for success.
PILGRIM: General Grange, as our viewers look at the news stories, especially this week, we're seeing a world that's extremely troubled. We have tensions with Iran, North Korea, a nuclear buildup. Chinese military building up. We look like we're living in an increasingly dangerous world. What do you think that we should do to prepare for that in terms of our military?
GRANGE: Well, the preparation not only is physical -- in other words, having the most modern equipment that fits the most probable conflict at hand in the future, at hand or in the future, but also that we are mentally prepared that conflict's going to continue. We're not going to have a pause of 10, 20 years, let's say, after or near the end of Iraq or Afghanistan. This is going to happen while we're still in the last engagement of Iraq, and it may be tougher than the situation we're in now.
And so, to protect our interests or other interests that are our allies, we have to be prepared mentally that this is going to continue. And it's part of the world the way it is, and someone is going to be called on -- called on to sacrifice, whether you believe in it or not, it will happen. And so we have to be mentally prepared. That's the most important part.
PILGRIM: Do you believe we're structurally prepared?
GRANGE: Are we structurally prepared?
PILGRIM: Yes.
GRANGE: I think there's still some items in the military that may be antiquated, that may be Cold-War-type things that were we're not adapting as fast as we can for what is behind the second and third hill that we may expect to encounter. And so, it takes a constant -- especially as fast as the world goes today -- a constant analysis of what is the type of resources and structure required to take on the threats to this nation.
PILGRIM: General Grange, we hear now that some of our National Guard is being deployed to the southern border of this country. National Guard is used heavily in conflict at this point. Do you believe that we can do both?
GRANGE: I believe we can do both if we put the mix of forces, the proper mix of forces with those specific tasks. For instance, I believe that the National Guard should be focused, number one, their priority, on border, border security, on our homeland defense, not overseas. That should be a supplemental requirement. And we have to be very savvy in how we task-organize both at home and abroad to take on these threats.
PILGRIM: General David Grange, thanks for joining us.
Coming up, a father and son go to war together, but one almost doesn't come home.
And later, wounded troops say goodbye to their home away from home and look to begin a new tradition. Those stories and a great deal more still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Well, there are about 100 army generals who have sons or daughters serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. For one family, father and son both served in Iraq, but the son almost didn't make it home. Barbara Starr has the story of the Odierno family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Linda Odierno watched both her husband and son go to war in Iraq. But soon after her husband came home, the phone rang with dreaded news. Their son, Tony, had been hit.
LINDA ODIERNO, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: When I heard about Tony's injury, all I could think about was how is he feeling? How much pain is he in? And how he's doing.
STARR: Tony was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a routine patrol in Baghdad.
CAPT. TONY ODIERNO, U.S. ARMY: First when they shot -- hit my vehicle. It went through my door, took off that arm, and it killed my driver.
STARR: Bleeding uncontrollably, one arm shot off, Tony climbed through the gunner's hatch and tried to help his buddies before he collapsed. It was courage any father would be proud of, especially the tough general who commanded the 4th Infantry Division, a division responsible for Saddam Hussein's capture.
LT. GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, U.S. ARMY: I think it hit home when Tony got hurt. But it is different when you're a father. I mean, you know, I mean, he's my son. As a parent you almost feel sorry for yourself initially, at least I did. And then when I saw Tony, I didn't feel sorry for myself.
STARR: The Odiernos say it was actually their son who kept them strong as they watched him recover. Tony and his dad now have adjoining Pentagon offices. Tony is the personal aide to Chairman Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This young man wants other amputees to know they will get better.
T. ODIERNO: Sometimes when you look at your injuries, I mean, it's just hard to look at, at first, you know, because you're not used to your new body yet. And it's hard and then one day you realize that I can still live a great life. I'm still going to live -- I can still live that -- whatever I want to do.
STARR: And the general finds his life changed by what happened to his son. Now when he talks to parents of other wounded soldiers.
R. ODIERNO: We talk as parents. I don't talk as a general to a parent, I talk as a parent.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Tony in fact, returned to the battlefield before his father. He went to Baghdad several months ago, where he served on a brief military assignment.
Up next, as a special tradition for one group of wounded troops comes to an end, they look for a way to carry on together. That special report is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: We told you two years ago about a special tradition honoring our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The owners of Fran O'Brien's Steakhouse in Washington D.C.., have been serving free dinners to troops severely wounded in battle. Now, the restaurant has lost its lease, but the troops are not letting go of the tradition. Jamie McIntyre has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): It would be just another landlord/tenant dispute, except for who is caught in the middle, America's war wounded. For 2-1/2 years now the steps have led to a haven for healing. Fran O'Brien's Steakhouse, tucked into the basement of the Capital Hilton in Washington.
SGT. WASIM KHAN, U.S. ARMY: The dinners are like, inspiration and motivation for us. From a personal view, it's like home for me.
MCINTYRE: What volunteers started in 2003 to thank wounded veterans with free dinners has grown into a Friday night institution. For along with the steaks come heaping helpings of emotional nourishment.
HAL KOSTER, FRAN O'BRIEN'S STEAKHOUSE: It's therapeutic to get out and especially in this environment, because it gives them an opportunity to be out with people that have gone through a lot of the same things they've gone through.
STAFF SGT. CHRISTOPHER BAIN, U.S. ARMY: I would sit down next to an amputee and didn't have any legs or even if he only had one leg and maybe he didn't his prosthetic yet, but it told me that this is the deal, I get your food, you cut my steak and he goes, not a problem. MCINTYRE: Donations from various organizes cover the tab, and everyone from Vietnam-era veterans to government bureaucrats, like Paul Wolfowitz, have become part of the therapy.
BAIN: I can actually tell you that they didn't just save my life, they're saving all these soldiers' lives.
MCINTYRE: But the dinners ended last month, because the Hilton evicted the restaurant in a dispute in which each side blames the other. Even as everyone agrees the dinners must go on.
BRIAN KELLER, GENERAL MANGER, CAPITAL HILTON: These guys have done good work, we support the veterans, but it's all about conditions in terms of a lease.
MCINTYRE: The hotel at first offered to take over hosting the dinners, but the restaurant owners and the volunteer who came up with the idea in the first place insist they'll find someplace more accommodating.
JIM MAYER, VOLUNTEER: I think the soldiers and marines will keep that spirit going.
MCINTYRE: And that's not in dispute. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: We thank you for being with us tonight to honor the spirit and dedication of all our men and women in uniform on this Memorial Day. For all of us here, thanks for watching. Good night from New York.
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