Posted on 02/18/2006 11:26:29 PM PST by leadpenny
By CATHY DYSON
NORFOLK--Richard Hursh lost two friends--and a piece of himself--when a bomb ripped through a mess tent in Iraq more than a year ago. The blast caused both of his lungs to collapse. Blood trickled from his mouth, and a photo of him being carried out on a stretcher was shown across the world.
The damage to his lungs was the most serious, but it turned out to be the least permanent for the Stafford County man. Hursh has a mangled scar where his right thumb used to be. There's chronic pain in his right arm from a badly broken shoulder blade.
The military gave him a medical retirement, instead of a discharge, because his injuries were so disabling. He's eligible for the same benefits as someone who spent a career in the service.
Hursh likes to show off his certificate of retirement. It's hanging on the wall of his dorm room at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he's a sophomore.
He thinks it's kind of funny that a 21-year-old would be retired from anything.
Hursh has a similar attitude about his cosmetic thumb--a mass of silicone attached to a glove. It's perfectly sculpted and incredibly lifelike, but Hursh has discovered he doesn't need it to feel whole.
He keeps the glove in a white box under his bed.
He got it out for Halloween, when he became the character "Richard With a Thumb." He grossed everybody out when he bent the fake thumb backward.
The way he's chosen to get on with his life speaks to the kind of person the retired sergeant has become.
"I'm pretty much fine," said Hursh, who still does most things with his right hand, even without the thumb. "I hung out with a lot of amputees, and what happened to me was not as bad as what happened to everyone else."
'An emotional situation' From the first conversation Hursh had with his parents after the explosion, the young soldier stressed how lucky he was.
His father remembers the phone call well. It came in the middle of the night, after Hursh had been transferred to the Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany.
His parents, William and Leonida Hursh, knew their son was seriously hurt. They also knew that two others attached to the 276th Engineer Battalion out of Richmond had been killed.
Hursh was heavily sedated when he talked to his parents, half a world away in southern Stafford, off Leeland Road.
"All I could get out of him was he was very fortunate," his father said.
The families of all those attached to the 276th came to realize how deadly suicide bomb attacks can be.
On the day of the blast, Hursh was coming out of the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul.
Sgt. Nick Mason of King George County was on one side of him and and Sgt. David Ruhren of Stafford County on the other.
In the chaotic moments afterward, Hursh tried to find his friends. The three were the same age, all members of a National Guard battalion that was based in Fredericksburg but was attached to the Richmond unit.
By December 2004, Hursh and his friends had been in Iraq for 10 months. Some days, they were under constant mortar attack; other times were quiet.
They had gone on patrols, raided missile factories and raced friendly Iraqi soldiers over an obstacle course the Americans built.
"We kicked their asses," Hursh said, smiling.
In their downtime, the young men talked about home and "the stupid stuff" they did as kids.
The 276th had been getting ready for another mission when the soldiers went to the mess hall.
Hursh and Mason were assigned to the same Humvee; Mason was going to be the driver, and Hursh the gunner.
The soldiers were in the chow hall when a blast slammed Hursh to the floor.
"I went to get up and nothing happened," he said. "I couldn't move my body, I couldn't look around for them."
He was at a nearby hospital by the time he was told his friends had died.
He didn't believe it.
"When I got to the hospital in Germany, I asked about them and they weren't there," he said. "Then, when I got to Walter Reed [Army Medical Center in Washington], I asked about them, and they weren't there.
"I guess I knew they had been killed when I was in Iraq, but I just kind of repressed it."
That's as much as Hursh is willing to say.
He's been to several memorial services for his friends and has spoken with their families. He has also answered questions from his college buddies about what it was like in Iraq.
They realize the pain he has to carry around with him after losing two friends.
"We never ask about that, and he's not one to volunteer the information," said his friend Mike Lewis. "It's pretty obvious it's an emotional situation."
Living with the pain Hursh is among 16,653 American servicemen and women wounded since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, according to Iraq Coalition Casualties.
His friends Mason and Ruhren are among the 2,269 fatalities.
A higher percentage of Americans have survived combat wounds suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan than in any other war in American history, according to the Department of Defense.
In World War II, 30 percent of those wounded died. By Vietnam, the number dropped to 24 percent.
Currently, it's 10 percent.
Most experts credit improvements in body armor and better medical facilities in the field. But those who survive have "more grievous wounds" from makeshift bombs and insurgent snipers, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
Six percent of those wounded have, like Hursh, needed amputations. That percentage is twice as high as in other wars, according to the Defense Department.
During his eight months at Walter Reed, Hursh saw soldiers who had lost arms and legs. He also saw them work to get on with their lives, and figured that if they could do it, he could, too.
That's why he still plays football, goes rock climbing and lifts weights.
"I pay for it while I'm doing it, but I just suck it up," he said.
He also got the motorcycle he'd always wanted. He had talked with his dad about buying one, but never had a chance to learn how to ride.
The younger Hursh always wanted to join the Army, just like his father, who retired in 2002 after 26 years. The two decided it would make sense for Hursh to join the JROTC program in high school to see if he liked it.
He went to basic training the summer after his junior year. He spent the next summer, after he graduated from a Fairfax high school, taking advanced combat training.
Hursh had one semester at Old Dominion before his unit was deployed. He went to Iraq--and got seriously hurt--before he ever got on a motorcycle.
Last spring, as he was recovering from his war wounds, he and his father bought a Yamaha, and the younger Hursh learned how to ride. His shoulder blade wasn't healed then. It really hurt, but he did it anyway.
Hursh, Mason and Ruhren talked about riding bikes together. The three planned to join the Rolling Thunder ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington on Memorial Day.
'They took care of us' Hursh's attitude about his medical care is as positive as his outlook.
He has nothing but good things to say about the treatment he received--overseas, in Washington and at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Hampton.
He goes to the Hampton hospital several times a month to see orthopedic specialists or to get injections for the pain.
He's been overwhelmed by the response from the public. At the Hampton hospital recently, the admissions clerk thanked him, shook his hand and told him she was honored to meet him.
At Walter Reed, groups regularly showed up at the hospital to visit the vets or take them on outings.
"People would come to the lobby and say, 'Anybody want to go to Six Flags today?'" he said. "They took care of us. Everywhere we went, we never had to pay for anything."
Hursh went to a Washington Redskins training camp and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The first cast on his hand was signed by actors Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider. He learned to play golf and got a free set of clubs.
The financial support has overwhelmed him as well.
His medical care and college education are covered by his veteran's benefits.
He also got $25,000 for the loss of his thumb through the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for those seriously injured in combat.
Hursh is one of 600 service members who received lump-sum payments after passage of the Wounded Warrior bill two months ago. Money for the retroactive payments came from the Defense Department. Future funds will come from monthly insurance premiums paid by service members.
Hursh hasn't decided what he'll do with his money; he got it just last week.
These days, he's focusing on life at college.
He's studying to be a civil engineer and already has some job possibilities.
There are days when he thinks he'd like to rejoin the military. Researchers are working on a functional prosthetic thumb--and Hursh has agreed to test it for the Army.
If he had a right thumb that worked, he believes that maybe he could fly helicopters as he always dreamed.
He'd have to clear mounds of military red tape to be reactivated. He's already started asking about the possibility.
"Nobody said I could," he said, "but nobody said I couldn't."
To reach CATHY DYSON: 540/374-5425 Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
I'm eternally grateful for his service, and sorry for his injury, but if he's he's not having complicated medical issues, why should he be compensated as such? There are plenty of past, current and future service personnel not getting just compensation for there injuries.
Do have have to don the flame suit?
What is he getting that you take issue with?
Seems to me, that if we have one-legged paratroopers, and one-eyed marksmen, we can have a one-thumbed pilot.
This is a man with a good attitude. A once-and-future soldier.
I love the part where wants to get back in the Army to fly choppers.
I've quit wondering where we find guys like this.
Read #3. I don't know exactly because I'm not familiar with militarily benefits. Rereading, I'm assuming it's compensation for lost wages, which I don't necessarily have a problem with, if it's offered across the board in similar circumstances. I first understood that he'd be getting better medical benefits (maybe the case?) because technically he's put more time in. That IMO would be unfair for others if this guy has no complicated medical issues as the article seems to point out.
Someone else will have to answer your questions. I'm one of the so called lucky ones who has no experience with compensation for injuries received. But I am somewhat stupified that anyone would question what the wounded, the fallen, and their families receive for paying such a high price themselves.
This guy spent 8 months at Walter Reed, and as someone who has been there dozens of times handing out Phone cards and whatever else they might need. Walter Reed is not a Country Club for slackers wanting to get over on the Military.
IMHO we owe them all we can give them
It's what others may NOT be receiving. Benefits are finite. There are plenty in serious medical need. This soldier sacrificed for sure, but I don't want the benefits taken from another if he isn't in need. Kinda like tying up 911 with false alarms. I hope I've clearly made my case with no disrespect.
8 Months at Walter Reed = major medical issues. Those beds at Walter Reed are not for outpatients. I don't know the extent of his injuries, but I will bet the rent that the Military did not afford him a bed there for 8 Months if he was suffering from a severe head cold
Ditto that!
Many know I'm FR's #1 Imus fan and I make no apologies for it. Two of his critter regulars are McCain and Hayworth. He accompanied McCain to Walter Reed about a year ago and says it had a profound and lasting effect on him. Through McCain, Hayworth and others, Imus had a huge impact on the bill that increased combat death benefits to $100,000 after congress had patted themselves on the back for increasing it from $6,000 to $12,000. Now, Imus, and the folks at MSNBC are involved with the fallenheroesfund.org. That organization is building a privately funded rehabilitation facility at Brooke Army Medical Center. Bank of America - Texas gave $1,000,000 to it on Friday.
I believe the Death Benefit is $400,000 now, But I could be wrong
Even better. I hadn't heard that.
Give the guy a break. He earned every thing we can give him.
God bless him and all the rest who work to protect our freedoms.
These kinds of stories are in many newspapers around the country and they never fail to inspire me. The Free Lance-Star does a good job.
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