Back in the World Pt. 1: Iraq's Human Toll

Back in the World Pt. 1: Iraq's Human Toll

With a surge of new troops heading to Iraq, combat hospitals are bracing for more casualties. The dedicated doctors and nurses who care for injured soldiers aren't just serving in the war theater, many are in our backyard. News10's Cristina Mendonsa takes you inside David Grant Medical center at Travis Air Force Base where the airmen from the 60th Medical Group take care of combat-injured soldiers and Marines every day.

For some of those injured soldiers, the memories of combat are just hours old.

"My platoon was in a seven-story building in Baghdad. I was pulling security outside a window," said Sgt. Justin Robertson, who is recovering but is still affected by the sniper's bullet that slipped under his body armor. "The thing that scared me the most is that I coughed up blood, so that kind of freaked me out."

....

Evacuated from the combat zone within hours, the soldiers and Marines arrive with Iraqi sand still stuck to their gear. Coming home injured, there are no welcome home banners or airport reunions, but there are many strong hands waiting for them in the form of doctors, nurses and medical techs. And always, a member of the patient's own military branch is there to answer questions and reassure.

"When other Marines are coming back, when they come back as a whole unit, they get a party, someone is meeting them," said Marine Sgt. Sergio Correa, who served in Iraq and now helps Marines who return wounded. "When they come back as patients injured, they don't get that. It's better to see someone than nobody at all."

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=24662