Posted on 12/12/2003 3:52:27 AM PST by kattracks
A Time magazine reporter in Iraq lost his hand but saved himself and three others when he tried to throw out a hand grenade lobbed into their Humvee, colleagues and officials said. Senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf, award-winning photographer James Nachtwey and two soldiers were wounded in Wednesday night's attack in Baghdad, but colleagues said it could have been worse.Weisskopf and Nachtwey were tagging along on a patrol with soldiers of the 1st Armored Division when a guerrilla threw the grenade into their Humvee.
"The identity of the attacker or attackers is not known," said Time managing editor Jim Kelly.
Kelly declined to reveal specifics about the ambush, but colleagues said Weisskopf's quick actions may have saved everyone in the vehicle.
They said the 57-year-old grabbed the grenade, and it exploded as he tried to toss it out the window.
Weisskopf, assigned to the magazine's Washington bureau, lost his right hand and suffered wounds to his chest and arms, while Nachtwey, 55, suffered shrapnel wounds that were not as serious, colleagues said.
The two soldiers also suffered minor wounds, officials said.
Weisskopf was able to speak with his wife, Judith, after the attack and tell her he was eager to get home, colleagues said.
Kelly said Weisskopf and Nachtwey were being transferred to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Originally published on December 12, 2003
Maybe now the media will realize that their constant negative reporting has consequences, such as emboldening the "insurgents" to continue these attacks on our troops.
What this reporter faced in search of a story, is faced everyday by our troops who are fighting for us.
It's a generational thing. They weren't spineless even during Vietnam. [TV news journalists back in the states were.]
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