Injured Soldier Recovers at Home
Friday, March 3, 5:28 p.m.
By Brandie Meng
A local soldier caught in the line of fire while serving in Iraq is now at
home and recovering from a gunshot wound to his head.
Sergeant Michael Scott Bennett said he's is relieved to be safe at his home
near Montgomery and is now relaxing and enjoying being around family and
friends.
On February 15 the National Guardsman with the 109th was seriously injured
while on patrol just outside Ramadi, Iraq.
"Right now I don't have any bone on my head it's just brain and skin," SGT
Bennett said. "We were out on patrol going through a high rise apartment
building. We made a wrong turn and got into some mud. It just rained and
when it rains in Iraq, it gets bad when it rains. A lot of things sink, like
Humvees."
Bennett said as he and his team were trying to get the vehicles out of the
mud, "I just peered over the Humvee to make sure, I heard shots ring out and
hit me and knocked me over. I didn't realize I was hit until I got back up."
He knew he was shot in the head when he saw blood dripping from his helmet.
He said he didn't feel any pain and was even conscious enough to call home.
"I was glad to hear his voice but then I couldn't speak," said mom, Mary
Bennett.
"It was definitely a shock. I can't remember ever feeling that shock ever
before," said Bennett's wife, Jolie.
"I just wanted a hug and thank God he's alive," the sergeant's mother said.
SGT Bennett still has a few more surgeries to undergo but he and his family
are all relieved he's safe and will be okay.