Editor’s Note: This is the fifth of a six-part series leading through Veterans Day and up to the Wall that Heals visit honoring veterans of each American war from World War II through the ongoing War on Terror.
For most people in the U.S., Sept. 11 will forever stand out as a day of infamy. But for Chris Crawford of Foxworth it’s Sept. 12.
On that date in 2003, two years and a day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the National Guard veteran was one of six soldiers on a truck in a convoy in Iraq that was hit by an explosion from an improvised explosive device (IED).
The supply convoy was traveling when the first Humvee drove over the kill-zone, setting off the explosion that damaged his vehicle and hit the Humvee behind him with shrapnel. On Crawford’s vehicle, five of the six soldiers were injured and/or maimed, and each of the five received Purple Hearts. Crawford was only one who was not hurt in the blast.
Once Crawford’s truck quit moving, other soldiers in the convoy and Crawford surrounded the destroyed vehicle to protect the injured and to defend themselves as the enemy had begun exchanging gunfire. The wounded were evacuated, and Crawford and approximately 10 other soldiers were left on the scene with no place to hide for about 90 minutes until tanks returned to carry the remaining soldiers back to safety.
Crawford said the attack has deeply affected him ever since.
“If I see something on the side of the road, I’m going to automatically swerve away from it. Once you get blown up in a vehicle like that, it stays with you,” he said.
Every year since the soldiers in the attack have been home, they get together for dinner on Sept. 12 just to talk about life.
“It’s our alive date; it could have turned out in so many different ways,” he said.
The 39-year-old was part of Company A, 890th out of Lumberton.
His unit was to provide light support to the Third Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga. The division took control of Fallujah in Iraq.
Crawford’s company came in the day after while the tanks were still smoldering from the battle for control of the city after what was one of the war’s most dangerous battles.
While in Fallujah the military took over a base, making it livable by rebuilding the barracks, showers and other parts of the base. He also took part in humanitarian efforts, such as rebuilding soccer fields and restoring power to the city. He was in the city for six months.
Crawford held two jobs in Iraq; first, he was the SAW gunner. SAW meaning “squad automatic weapon,” an M249, fully automatic machine gun. Each squad only had one of these. When not carrying the M249, he was the assistant to the executive officer of the company. As the SAW gunner he was part of the Quick Reaction Force.
He would help provide security; if a vehicle broke down, he would be one of the soldiers who would surround it while it was being worked on.
Crawford spent 11 months in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. Coming home for him was not that hard for him to adjust to. He said he had a lot of support from his wife, Candace. But in 2009, something changed.
“I had convinced myself I was fine and one day I was sitting on the curb crying and not even knowing why I was crying,” he said.
His boss at the time was also a veteran, who quickly recognized what was happening to Crawford.
His boss flew Crawford, Candace and their son and himself to Puerto Rico the next day for a week to give Crawford a break he desperately needed. With encouragement from his boss and others, Crawford sought help with the Veterans Administration. He was diagnosed as having post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Ten months out of the year Crawford says he is fine, but there is always a six-week period around Sept. 12 that becomes a dark time. His wife has been able to detect it before he does. Sleeping, time spent in solitude and being irritable will plague him. After a few weeks, though, the light shines again.
Crawford is now working with photography and video production. Ironically, he initially self-appointed himself and later by his commander to be the photographer for the unit. When he left Fort Stewart to head to Iraq, he purchased a Kodak point-and-shoot, 4-megapixel camera.
“I thought I had the Cadillac of all cameras,” he said.
He also bought a laptop and documented his unit’s journey.
Looking back Crawford believes his journey in Iraq has definitely taken him to where he is today.
