Hampton Soldier Receives Purple Heart for His Actions
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The images of Iraq are clear to many Americans, including those fighting to
rebuild the country.
A Hampton soldier is home right now, after staring death in the face.
During Junior Lee Schriner's third tour in Iraq, he fought off an enemy that
is difficult to see. The IED's.
"I turned to tell the Sergeant Major, 'we don't need to be here.' And its
like the whole inside of the truck exploded," Schriner remembers.
His helmet bared the brunt of the roadside bomb, but you can see the scars
on his face pieces of shrapnel left behind. His helmet is cracked all the
way through.
The gunner in the humvee was killed instantly, and the others were injured.
"You look around to see how everybody is doing, and just the way he was
laying in the floor of the humvee there was no doubt I knew Sergeant Major
was hurt."
Schriner was blinded in his right eye and bleeding, but his army training
kicked in.
"I drove a 1000 meters to the gates of Rustamaya in a banged up humvee? The
two passenger side tires were blown off. There was a round imbedded in the
engine block, the oil pan blown off the truck, and my door wouldn't close."
Schriner's actions earned him a Purple Heart. It is the same medal his
father earned more than 30 years ago as a Marine in Vietnam. His father
never made it home.
Judith Estilow is relishing in having her son at home for the next two
weeks. Schriner is her only son. She was pregnant when his father was killed
in Vietnam.
Once back in Iraq, Schriner will return to the road in support of American
forces who are training Iraqi soldiers.
He hopes his next visit home will be for good.
"You don't have to agree with why we're there you don't have to agree with
us being there. Should never take it out on the soldiers though. They're
just doing they're job."
Schriner's actions saved many more lives that day. He did not know it at the
time, but there was another bomb about 160 feet away which was designed to
kill any troops that may have gotten out of the humvee alive.