On 9 June 2012 at 0730 local time Afghanistan my life and that of my three-team member inside the truck will be changed forever. We were lead truck, in our Maxx pro which we named “Bone Crasher“. We had spent several hours the last couple of days fixing it, adding lights, making a way so we could listen to music, and adding extra ammo and a couple extra things to keep us safe inside the truck, or so I thought, and once we dismounted safe also.
The day started like most, up early to make sure the truck was started, radios were on and working, the gun was mounted, oiled and had clean good ammo, plus a 40mm hand held launcher with smoke and a couple flares, we also had a few he rounds to just in case. I had a couple extra minutes so I ran to call Sara, my wife. We joked about the possiblility of being her pregnant, since she had me fixed 7 years ago. Surprisingly, after 31 pregnancies test she told me that she was, we joked a little and I told he I had to go, I loved her, and would call later. I then went to my mission pre-brief.
Once I walked in the room and joked a little everyone seemed a little off. After it was over, myself and Chris Norris asked if we could push it back a couple hour our platoon leader said no, we told him that something was wrong. I was the auctioning platoon sergeant, so moved out to the trucks talking like always, I got my final number that where going out, did my radio checks called the PL gave him the number jumped in my truck and moved to the gate once at the gate we met up with our peers from the Afghanistan nation army, there were ten of them to my 20 and we had 5 Afghanistan boarder police going with. I never trusted any of the ABP they are very dirty, so I was in the lead ANA truck behind me, then the pl, then Chris and the other two Afghan trucks and then Jesse, who did a great job.
We moved down the road SPC Nathan Davis was driving, SPC Nick Williams was in the gun and we were talking and watching all around us as everyone moved on the route I picked. Every US truck stayed on the same path, we had been out the gate may be 10 or 15mins , when the IED went off.
Everything I am saying now is an account of what Nick and Chris remember.
The IED was between 450 to 500lbs from EOD. Everyone said there were rocks and dusts flying though the air, my truck had white smoke from the fire system going and thank God it did. Nick said the truck was blown in the air and tossed into two pieces the cab and the under part with 4 wheels, the truck landed it cut nicks hand off and knocked him from the gun back inside the truck, he picked his own hand up and ” said I may need this later”. Nick and Chris said it took a couple minutes to get up too us just in case there was something waiting for them. They got to us and found Nick was ok, the camera guy in the back was ok, and the local national we had was fine. They checked and SPC Nathan T. Davis was KIA. I pray every day the Lord has him. When they came to check me, at the time I didn’t have a pulse, they called for special items to get us both out we were pinned inside the truck. They laid two body bags on the ground to place Davis and myself in.
