home of the brave....
al.com
'Absolute hero' badly hurt in Iraq
Sgt. Troy Jenkins of Repton loses leg and is in critical condition after saving others, military tells family
04/22/03
By CONNIE BAGGETT
Staff Reporter
8Jenkins
REPTON -- A soldier profiled in the Mobile Register days ago was in critical condition Monday from severe injuries he sustained Saturday when he threw himself on a cluster bomb tossed by a 7-year-old Iraqi child, his mother and his wife said they were told by the military.
Connie Gibson of Repton said Department of Defense officers notified the family her 25-year-old son, Sgt. Troy Jenkins of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, was in "seriously critical" condition Monday, undergoing treatment in Kuwait after losing his left leg and fingers on his right hand in an explosion.
"He's a hero," Gibson said, "a 100 percent hero. He threw himself on an unexploded cluster bomb to save a child and his unit. I've had the worst two days of my life."
Gibson said officials reported to the family that a young child was playing with the unexploded ordnance and tossed it near a group of soldiers. Jenkins reportedly recognized the ordnance and threw himself on top of it as it detonated. The blast severed his left leg and fingers on his right hand, Gibson said. He sustained various other shrapnel wounds, she said, but likely saved the lives of the child and soldiers nearby.
The incident is under investigation but officials do not believe the child, who was slightly injured, was part of any hostile attack against the soldiers who were part of a crowd control force, she said.
Gibson said military officials notified her son's wife, Amanda Jenkins, at their California home on Saturday. Jenkins and his wife have two sons, Tristan, 4, and Brandon, 2. Troy Jenkins graduated from Hillcrest High in Evergreen. He joined ROTC at 14, and joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 17. Four years later, he joined the U.S. Army and trained to be a paratrooper. He also studied Arabic.
In December, the last time Gibson saw her son, he told her, "Mom, if I die over there, don't worry. I'm doing what I want to do. This is a necessary job."
"I'm asking for prayers," Gibson said. "Troy's a Christian, and I am so very proud of him. You like to think your children will do the right thing. He did, and he's an absolute hero."
Amanda Jenkins is "trying to keep things as normal as possible," Gibson said. Troy was injured last June in Afghanistan when he was grazed by a bullet, she said. Once doctors stabilize his most recent injuries, Jenkins will be transported to Germany and then to a U.S. hospital for treatment, officials told the family.
U.S. Army Public Affairs officers in Tampa, Fla., and in Central Command in Qatar confirmed that an incident matching Gibson's account occurred Saturday, though policy prohibits naming the soldiers involved. The details would have to be released by family members, officials said.
A news release on the Central Command Web site read as follows:
"Four soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) were injured Saturday in Baghdad when unexploded ordnance detonated after a local child attempted to turn it over to the soldiers. The soldiers were conducting a dismounted patrol when the child approached with the unexploded ordnance. The unexploded ordnance detonated when one of the soldiers attempted to remove it from the child's hand.
"Three of the four soldiers have been evacuated to military medical treatment facilities; their conditions are unknown at this time. The fourth soldier involved was treated and returned to duty. The child, whose injuries are unknown, was taken away by a local man at the scene. Army civil affairs and medical teams are continuing efforts to locate the child.
"The soldiers' identities are being withheld pending next of kin notification. A full investigation is underway." |
