Gulf/Iraq-Afghanistan Wars
H
By Major Ed Pulido (Ret.) Spokesperson for VFN Foundation
aving completed three separate tours of duty in Iraq, Major
Ed Pulido was serving a one-year stint with
the U.S. Army’s 75th Division Coalition Assistance Training Team on a mission to train new members of the Iraqi army. Under the broiling noonday sun of August 17, 2004 Ed saw his life take a 180-degree turn. As part of a seven-vehicle convoy going from Tadji Military Training Base northwest of Baghdad to the Kirkuk Military Training Base near the Iranian border, Major Pulido was driving through what is known as “IED Alley” traveling at speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour. After successfully navigating through the crowded streets of Baqubah, Ed’s SUV hit an IED (improvised explosive device) which exploded directly under him. The vehicle, unprotected by armor plating, is referred to as a “soft target.” The enemy knows this type of vehicle often carries high- ranking offi cials, making the situation even more dangerous. The horror of the ambush was magnifi ed for Pulido because he was conscious throughout this ordeal and could see the damage as if it was in slow motion. The blast blew the hand guards off his M-16 rifl e, shattering all the windows, leaving fragments of the windshield in his face. He remembers looking down at his leg, knowing it was destroyed. Col. Kenneth Stone, in the passenger seat, said later that Pulido never lost control. Major Pulido gradually brought the vehicle to a stop and saved the others’ lives. Stone pulled Pulido from the debris onto the 128-degree pavement. Ed still relives the scene: gas coming from the SUV, his non- commissioned offi cers protecting him and keeping the insurgents
8 VETERAN FAMILY NETWORK h AUGUST 2011
away from a coordinated ambush on the convoy.
Long minutes passed, nearly an
hour, before the men could hear a helicopter approaching. “God’s coming to get me,” Major Pulido said to himself, and then thinking as he lay on the battlefi eld, ”What will be done to help my family?” The seconds, the minutes ticked
off in his head. Ed said once the helicopter arrived, he was transported to emergency hospital care 56 long minutes later. It was there his bleeding fi nally stopped. It was there he knew he would make it. As luck would have it, a combat medic from Nebraska was also a passenger in Ed’s SUV that day. He provided the Major with mental, as well as physical
reverse. So, Pulido provided some clarifi cation:
“I saved his life because I was able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop; he saved my life because even though he had a concussion, he worked to get me out,” said Pulido. “He was able to get the seat belt off and dislodge my leg because he didn’t want that vehicle to burn me. The air bag had deployed and pinned my arms on the steering wheel. If I had turned the wheel, we would have rolled. Hanging onto that wheel actually saved my life because it kept the vehicle straight.”
In a hospital bed in Baghdad, Major Ed Pulido received a Purple Heart from Gen. David Petraeus, the Commanding General of the Multi- National Force in Iraq and entered into Phase 2, the Challenge. He was
“There are now over 38,000
injured and over 5,500 killed with
more than 172,000 dependents,”
support.
Pulido suff ered a broken leg, arm, knee, and pelvis; he had pieces of shrapnel lodged in his abdomen and arm and still carries at least one piece which surgeons could not remove. That remaining piece of metal led to the infection which necessitated the removal of Ed’s left leg.
According to Colonel Stone, Pulido saved his life. If you listen to Pulido, he would tell the
transported to the regional Army military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany, then to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and fi nally to Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, where
he received
treatment to control infections in his knee. Sadly, the damage was too great to contain, and 52 days after the attack, surgeons told Pulido they would have to amputate his left leg. He would undergo 17 hours of surgery and six blood transfusions. He would spend 60 days in the hospital before seeing sunlight, and his weight would plummet from 195 to 118 pounds! During this period of recovery
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52