Fort Lewis - Day Four

Luck? I don't know. Some might say so. I don't gamble, probably because I don't really believe all that much in "luck".

But read this and then you tell me.

Is it luck when an AK-47 round embeds itself in the fiberglass lip of a Stryker hatch - only an inch from the edge - just where the back of your neck is usually exposed in the open hatch?

Is it luck when a piece of shrapnel flies through an open hatch, grazing your ear, but causing no other injury?

Is it luck when a mortar round impacts close to your position and you hear the buzzing of the metal and the pings the pieces make as they bounce off your surroundings?

Is it luck when an IED explodes along side your Stryker, almost tipping it over, nearly destroying it and you drive away unharmed? And then to have it happen not just once but three more times?

Four near misses from IED attacks. Six major fire fights. Countless mortar and rocket attacks - averaging one a night and sometimes two or three a night, and they come raining down during the day too. And small arms fire - which happens all the time - day and night.

Luck? No, it can't be. There has to be somebody watching out for you.

The stories are "incredible" and I heard some of them just after seeing the new Pixar movie, "The Incredibles", with three of the people I love most in this world.

I also learned something about the amazing resilience of the human spirit today. All of these things happened to an un-imposing young man who can now sit in a movie theater smiling and laughing - enjoying himself - holding hands with his girl. I really don't know if I could behave the same way and to be honest I'm afraid to even try.