Signature Wound: Hidden Bombs, Heroic Soldiers, and the Shocking, Secret Story of the Afghanistan War (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Bob Drury (Author)

Book Description

Every war has its “signature wounds,” injuries inflicted by frightening new weapons and tactics the U.S. military has never faced before. Blistered flesh from mustard gas in World War I. Petroleum burns from oil and gas igniting on the surface of the Pacific in World War II. And now, lost legs, hands, and most devastating of all, genitals, as a result of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in today’s war in Afghanistan. Men’s Health contributing editor Bob Drury, a veteran reporter of both the Afghan and Iraq wars, delivers his most hard-hitting and important dispatch yet—the unforgettable accounts of U.S. soldiers who have suffered these very personal wounds. Their intense tales of battlefield survival are just a prologue to the unimaginable fights they face once they’re stateside. This is essential reading for truly understanding what our fighting forces put on the line—and lose—every single day.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Seasoned war correspondent Bob Drury has a history of uncovering the little-known details of war by spending time with soldiers and asking challenging questions. And perhaps no question has been more difficult than asking what it's like to live without legs, without testicles, and in some cases without a penis. Captain Tom Bertelsmann had a stoic response: "You either die from it or learn to live with it. You better learn to accept who you are, now, this different person." Bertelsmann lost both legs and both testicles in an IED blast. He is one of more than 200 who have suffered similar wounds in Afghanistan since 2009. Drury uncovers and explores an issue currently weighing on the mind of many a serving soldier--the prospect of losing his manhood in an IED blast. In this fast-paced article soldiers explain in detail how they got blown up, their immediate reactions, and how it's changed their lives. Drury includes the point of view of those who attend the wounded: the surgeons, the physical and psychological rehabilitators, and even a crack team in the Pentagon working on ballistic (bomb proof) underwear, cups, and cod pieces. An eye-opening read. --Paul Diamond

Product Details

• File Size: 511 KB
• Print Length: 48 pages
• Publisher: Rodale (October 11, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005UZGMM0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,521 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #31 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > The World Stage
  • #46 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Reporting
  • #65 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > United States > Military History > Afghan War

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Just got blown up is all" October 18, 2011

By Rett01 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

War is indeed hell and it's hellish in ways normally we don't think about.

Each war has had its own particular scourge. Mustard gas in the Argonne, burning petroleum in the Pacific, Agent Orange in Vietnam. In Afghanistan soldiers are having their genitals blown off by IEDs, which are often crude enough that they maim rather than kill. With devastating results.

Each war has its own signature wound. Also its own argot. In Afghanistan the lingo referring to blast victims includes "AK or BK," which means an amputation above the knee or below. Anything below the knee, the victims bravely dismiss as a "paper cut."

The percentage of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan having limbs amputated, which usually involves some degree of genital wound or infection, is higher than any other conflict including the Civil War. The signature wound occurs most often when a soldier steps on the pressure plate of a homemade explosive, made from common fertilizer. The force of the blast is up, straight into the groin and "into your genital and pelvic regions, carrying with it at supersonic speed tiny shards of rock and dirt . . . Depending on the size of the mine, all or parts of your `package' might be blown off."

The second thing soldiers who are caught in a blast check is their face to make sure they still have ears, nose, lips. Invariably the first thing they do is grab for their penis and determine if everything is intact. The frequency of genital wounds has caused the military to review its benefits program. Currently loss of an ear or thumb, for example, means $50,000 in disability benefits. At present, there's no compensation for losing your penis, testicles or scrotum. Today, soldiers often visit a sperm bank before being deployed, just in case.

Those are some of the clinical and factual aspects of today's signature wound. What's truly wrenching about Drury's account is the personal toll these soldiers are paying and the physical and emotional scars they're living with and trying so valiantly to overcome.

He tells a number of personal stories of some of the men and boys whose lives have been fundamentally altered by their service in Afghanistan. There is a lot of heartbreak in their accounts. Their resilience and fortitude is almost beyond believing.

I was affected most by the stoicism of one young guy, "who looks not much older than 14," back from battle recovering in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. "Oh, I really don't have much to say. Just got blown up is all," he said.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Afghanistan, Soldiers, Marines, wounds November 13, 2011

By 05/11A

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I downloaded the book via my Kindle. I am currently overseas.

I doubt the American people really understand the sacrifices of our military personnel of the horrific danger of operating in an IED environment. The thought an IED could take your life..or your limb..or multiple limbs is always with you..both in the day and in the darkest moments of sleep.

Remember, all these casualties..with horrific wounds are volunteers....all volunteers with the idealistic approach to doing what is right for humanity and for our country.

The American people and our government owe these wounded warriors whatever they may require..be is housing, education, mentoring, medical care (perhaps forever)..or anything that makes their life alittle easier.

I cannot imagine personally of having lost both limbs..or more. How I would deal with such a wound...only to ask the question(s) of "why" and "was it worth it". This is an answer for each person who served in Iraq or Afghanistan must deal with personally.

I can only say... everyone should understand the depths of despair and pain enduring perhaps forever...

Bless them all..

RH
Afghanistan, Paktia/2003;Iraq/2003; HOA/2002, 2008 & 2010

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The not pleasant impacts of war November 8, 2011

By B. Michael

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Signature Wound provides an unusual insight into some of the more devastating wounds of war. The writer reveals certain horrors of war without crass sentimentality or judgements but through conversations with those affected (both directly and indirectly). The book cleverly exposes that the prevention cranks of Defence work particularly slowly but also outlines the pioneering nature of the medical staff dealing with the victims. The sheer numbers of victims was also a surprise - funnily enough not numbers that are freely banded about. Worth a read.

More About the Author

Men's Health Contributing Editor and chief military correspondent Bob Drury has been nominated for three National Magazine Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. He has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and Darfur among other sites. He is also the author, co-author, or editor of nine nonfiction books, including The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat (Grove-Atlantic Press), the recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation's 2010 General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award for nonfiction.

His latest book, Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam (Simon & Schuster), was published in May 2011. His new Kindle Single, Signature Wound, is available from Amazon.