The meaning of Never Quit...again, not sure where we find these amazing men and women, but I thank the Lord that we do. Soldier in Focus: Never Quit 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs Story by Staff Sgt. Nathan Hoskins CAMP TAJI, Iraq – More than most, Soldiers know about never quitting, it is in their ethos and creed – a code they have embedded in their hearts from the beginning of their military careers. Sgt. 1st Class Pierce Williams, once a young infantry staff sergeant, has had moments in his life where quitting was given as an option, but instead, he chose the ethos. Williams, a native of Sturgis, S.D., an intelligence non-commissioned officer for future operations for the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, now on his third deployment to Iraq, never thought he would be shuffling through intelligence reports–not after one fateful day in 2006. He joined the Army in May 2002, six days after he graduated high school; following in his older brother's footsteps. In February 2003, less than four months after arriving to his first duty assignment with the 82nd Airborne Div. in Fort Bragg, N.C., he deployed to Iraq. "I was 19 years old and coming over here to Iraq was crazy. You're shooting at people, you're getting shot at," he said. "It was nothing that you'd experience back in the States." With one deployment behind him and after a year-long training period with his new unit, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, he was on his way back to Iraq. For the first 65 days of his new deployment, he wasn't very impressed with the amount of enemy action. It was a welcome lull in fire fights and daily rocket attacks of his last deployment. That all changed the night of Dec. 10, 2006 – day 66. Williams volunteered his Soldiers to go on a patrol so that his comrades could get some much needed rest. But his decision to do so almost immediately brought on uneasy feelings. What made it worse was his Soldiers had the same premonition. "I had quite a few Soldiers coming up to tell me that they didn't feel comfortable going out on this patrol," said Williams. As a leader, you have to show that you have no fear and that everything will be okay, he said. "That part was probably a little difficult for me because I was such a young staff sergeant," said Williams. But none of that mattered; Soldiers have to put their feelings aside to accomplish their mission, said Williams. Night fell and the convoy set out. While on the road, Williams was constantly trying to radio his headquarters for an updated status of his route in regards to improvised explosive devices, but to no avail. "After I made my last radio call, I kind of looked over at my driver and team leader, who was also in my vehicle, and was getting ready to say, 'I can't get a hold of these [guys]!'" But before he uttered those words in frustration, he was blasted in the face by a giant fireball that slammed him violently against his door. "My initial thought was, 'I've just been blown up by an IED,'" Williams said. As the daze from the blast began to clear, his brain started processing information normally. This brought into view the rest of his Soldiers still inside the vehicle. Only Williams and his driver made it out alive. After other Soldiers pulled his door off using another vehicle, his medic approached him and asked if he was okay. At the time he could not feel his left ear and thought his left shoulder was dislocated. "That was the first time, as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, that I felt pain," said Williams. The medic pulled down on his arm, which caused a stream of profanity to flow from William's mouth, but his shoulder was not separated. "I kept asking if my ear was still there and he said, 'yeah,' and kept wrapping," said Williams. Shortly thereafter he was medically evacuated by the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, the very unit he now serves with, he said. It turned out that he did still have his left ear; it had been filleted from his scalp by a piece of shrapnel. The left side of his upper torso was pelted with numerous entrance wounds from the explosion and debris. The list of injuries goes on: second degree burns to his face, neck and hands, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and bi-lateral hearing loss. He even has a couple dozen pieces of shrapnel inside his body – some the size of quarters. Month by month ticked away as he made his way through therapy for both his body and mind. Like many Soldiers in his place, he felt the pang of fear and pain, a reminder that it would be so much easier to relent, but he pushed back. Williams was not going to let anything stop him. Light emphasizes the left side of Sgt. 1st Class Pierce Williams' face where, along with his upper torso, he took the brunt of an improvised explosive device, Dec. 10, 2006. Williams, of Sturgis, S.D., an intelligence sergeant of future operations, for the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, recovered from second degree burns to his face, neck and hands, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and bi-lateral hearing loss. He still has a couple dozen pieces of shrapnel still in his body - reminders of his days as a battle-hardened infantryman. US Army Photo by SSG Nathan Hoskins The IED did not take his life, so he had a heightened fervor to become the best Soldier he could in lieu of his injuries. His goal was to come back stronger than ever and continue to fight as an infantryman. It took 22 months of surgeries, physical therapy and counseling for him to finally go before a medical...
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Nov 16 2009, 11:58 PM
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