"Wounded Warriors" visit with Rotarians

Mark Millican

Cpl. Nate Watson watched a large crowd of Rotarians hanging on every word Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Boyles and Spc. Andy Sullens said as they evoked the improvised explosive device (IED) blast that almost killed them in Afghanistan in May.

Then it was his turn to speak.

“Every time I hear these guys talk about their injuries, I thank God I just got shot,” he said to laughter.

Speaking on Veterans Day, Boyles told of returning fire from a gunner’s turret during a Taliban ambush in August and then discovering his own blood had sprayed the inside of the vehicle before he swapped positions with the driver.

“I drove myself to Tagab, got out and walked to the French aid station,” he recalled. “I walked from the French aid station to the landing zone and got on a helicopter, and when I got to Bagrab they wouldn’t let me walk. I tried to explain to them I got shot in the arm and not in the leg. (Later) I told my wife I wished I’d got shot in the leg because I don’t like walking anyway.”

Then Watson, who has been in the Georgia Army National Guard just over three years and was on his first deployment, turned serious.

“None of us are from Dalton (where their unit, Charlie Troop, is headquartered), and you guys have been tremendous support for us,” he told the Rotarians and their guests. Watson is from Woodstock, Boyles hails from Augusta and Sullens lives in Dahlonega. Anthony Landowski from Ringgold, the fourth man in this week’s “Wounded Warrior” tour, joins the group today.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my wife (Ashley),” Watson said. “I don’t say thanks enough to her. You know, at 3:30 (p.m.) on Aug. 17 in Afghanistan it was 7 o’clock (a.m.) here, and I know it was bad to get a phone call saying, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know before the Army calls you that I got shot.’”

Boyles then turned his sights on Sullens.

“And thanks to my buddy, Andrew Sullens, I got to make two of those phone calls because while he was laying in the hospital (in May) he asked for me,” he began. “And as I was walking to the hospital I knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted me to call his wife (Jill) and tell her that he was hurt ... so I got to make two of those phone calls and tell two wives that we were hurt. That’s the worst phone call to make. I dreaded both of them. But I think our families have been a great support system for us.”

Sullens believes the American people have become complacent.

“I think we have to criticize ourselves,” he said. “There’s a war going on. You can walk down the street at any point in time and someone can tell you what’s going on in college football, but they can’t necessarily tell you what’s going on in the Middle East.”

Sullens said he’s spent a lot of time with Vietnam vets in a VA (Veterans Administration) hospital and knows how they were treated on their return stateside.

“Fortunately, I can say things have gotten better,” he said. “I can relate to them ... and America has welcomed me back. A lot of other vets weren’t that lucky.”

Boyles fielded a question about the Purple Heart medals sitting in front of each of them — which he called the “purple badge of misfortune” — and then each man spoke of his medical treatment and defended the much-maligned Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“You hear a lot of stories, but I haven’t experienced any of that,” said Boyles, who went on to describe each level of care he received. “Everybody had a medical team and received medical care.”

He said old barracks at Walter Reed were substandard in the past because they hadn’t been used in many years, but now new lodging facilities have been built with single-person rooms and wide-screen televisions.

“Half as big as the wall,” chimed in Watson.

“We commend you for your bravery,” state Rep. Roger Williams stood and said, “and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for what you’ve done.”

The soldiers received several standing ovations during the luncheon. The posting and removing of the “colors” (American and Georgia flags) was carried out by four Junior ROTC program members from Dalton High School.