European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse June stars and stripes heroes Page 11 How close i came to life and death by Lisa Burgess stars and stripes before starting off on a Convoy trip through airman 1st class Christian Jackson always made sure the slip of paper his mom sent him was tucked securely into his uniform on the in his mothers hand writ was psalm which Many christians Call the psalm of it in part thou Shalt not be afraid for the terror by night nor for the Arrow that Flieth by there shall no evil name airman 1st class Christian Jackson unit 232nd detach 732nd expedition Ary logistics readiness Squadron medal Bronze Star with v earned near Iraq befall but evil did befall Jackson in on evil befell the 21yearold from Niagara As Well As the entire Convoy of five humvee loaded with Security person Nel guarding 25 tractor trailers driven by employees of the military contractor evil befell them in the form of an insurgent in a Small Village less than 30 minutes from the safety of their Home base of one of the largest military installations in but As the evil Rose out of the darkness and surrounded the the Short Young airman who had traded his relatively Safe Drivers spot on that Mission for the gunners Turret on a whim found something inside him that he didst know he i Learned that in willing to put my life on the line so other people can be Jackson said in a Tele phone interview from Kirtland air Force where he is stationed with the 377th air base Jackson received a Bronze Star with v device for his actions that Jackson had been travelling Iraq roads since arriving at Balad in july 2005 with the 232nd detachment of the 732nd expeditionary logistics readiness the Squadron was part of the 732nd expeditionary Mission support 332nd air expeditionary although Jackson was a not a we All knew each others jobs and and maintained that profi he he had struck a Deal with one of his gunner buddies some one he had gone to High school with to Trade places a couple of times during their he and that Man had traded places once the Convoy they chose for the second Trade was a Short milk run Between Balad and Camp it was a cold Jackson late and very we Only a half hour left to said who was in the second of the five Manning the tur remounted machine the Convoy was passing through a Village when the first gun truck emerged to the sight of tracer rounds and muzzle the trucks gunner immediately sent up a red flare to warn the rest of the followed by a White illumination round so the gunners could spot it was game his airman 1st class Charity mane Vered the humvee into up in his Jacksons reaction was automatic he pushed the safety on the fiddy Cal and looked for flashes of Light indicating the almost Simuta his Index Finger pulled Back on the already chambered and ready to started to then the gun Jackson cursed and yanked the guns retracting handle a dead round came tumbling out of the ejection Mecha but almost As soon As it started firing the gun jammed a second and Jackson cleared he made his Way through his entire ammunition 100 in about 40 unlearned that in willing to put my life on the line so other people can be even with the two Jackson then he turned to his m4 Rifle and began to fire All the sounds of gunfire and screaming ripped the As he i probably went Jackson he had just one conscious he said i want to make it All this the Convoy was speeding out of the kill the train of vehicles finally stopped about 3 Miles Down the Road to tally the wounded three Abr who didst have the Protection of humvee had been shot Dur ing the True blood treated the most severely wounded contract none of them died As a result of their Jacksons mean had been hit several times by but he didst have a Nei ther did any of the airmen on the Security it hit me How close i came to life and Jackson other people got but in sitting up there in the tur and nothing touched me at Jackson never memorized the words to psalm 91 during his Iraq but he knows the Gist of it even though theres a lot of stuff going its going to be he god is watching Over email Lisa Burgess at airman 1st class Christian Jackson he said i had a Good humvee Side manner7 by Leo Shane Iii stars and stripes Charity Trueblood still has night mares about the and All of the blood As she tried to close up the contractors she said that a curse and an inspire its a bad thing because i Haven Learned to Deal with it fully said who has left the air Force and is now living in but its a Good thing because i know what i can do name airman 1st class Charity Trueblood unit 732nd expedition Ary logistics Squadron medal Bronze Star with earned near Iraq i know what i can i know what i want to do in life it made me a stronger earned a Bronze Star with v for her actions during that attack during a Convoy Mission outside 18 months the airman first class was driving an Upa Mored humvee near the Middle of the 30vehicle Convoy when the Lead vehicle spotted what looked like a Roadside her unit had encountered snipers and bombs in the area in the past and anticipated a possible when shots rang out from the darkness As they slowed to examine the they reacted you just she As soon As the attack you return fire and get out of their i moved the humvee to wards the Side of fire to Block the Unar Mored but we All started two of the contractors trucks she was Lance air Force senior airman Charity Trueblood was awarded a Bronze Star with v for her lifesaving efforts on near trying to shield were riddled with bullets As they sped Trueblood said the first had a tire blown sending Sparks across the Asphalt As the vehicle bounced Down the Highway on a the second truck caught on fire after being and the troops forced it to a Stop As soon As they got out of the shooters when they opened the truck door they found that the shooters had also hit the contractor Robert her Crew pulled him from the burning threw him on the Hood of the tightly packed and crept away from the growing we wanted to get out of there so no one would get Hurt in the but you cant drive too fast or Stop too fast when some one is holding onto the she you have to be pretty once out of the flames True blood jumped out of the car with the first Aid kit to treat the the wound was worse than they had he had a gunshot wound it entered in his right completely missed Bone and came out be tween his shoulder Blade and his she when we got the Guys asked what i did to the because there was blood All Over a combat frantically packed his Arm and Back with Gauze As others radioed Back for a she said she barely remembers what she was doing As she tried to Stop the you she when something at least in my you and you Deal with it a few minutes the contractor was in the air and headed Back to True blood was left to her Normal Shak ing and wondering if hed she got her answer a few Days after recovering from his Martin found True bloods commander and asked if he could thank her in he said i had a Good humvee Side said who was promoted to senior airman after her efforts that the two still email occasionally he is still working in while a recurring Back injury Cut Short True bloods air Force now she wants go into and plans on heading Back to school next fall for a nursing i actually had started an emt class before i she but i didst think id be Good at now Ive always wanted to help i just didst know email Leo Shane at
