Posted by
Cyber Pastor on Friday, June 22, 2007 8:37:51 PM
This young man is from the city where I grew up (about 12 miles from Hope) and we spend a large amount of time there. Lots of stories on local troops in today's paper. I will post them all.
North grad hurt in Iraq explosion
Roadside bomb kills 3;
Archibald only soldier in Humvee to survive blast
KIRKUK — A roadside bomb rocked a Humvee and killed three U.S. soldiers, but the driver, U.S. Army Pfc. Tanner Archibald, 23, of Columbus, is recovering from his injuries. Archibald suffered smoke inhalation, burns and an 8-inch gash on the right side of his scalp that runs from front to back, according to his family.
Archibald, a 2001 graduate of Columbus North High School, was the lone survivor of the explosion in Kirkuk, Iraq, his family said.
He was driving a Humvee, June 14 when the bomb exploded, said his mother, Debbie Taylor.
“He said it completely turned the vehicle over,” Taylor said.
About a day later, Archibald called his mother from an airplane as he was being flown between hospitals.
Taylor said she was at work when she received the 1 p.m. phone call.
She knew immediately that something was wrong.
Usually, her son starts a conversation with “Hey Mom,” but this time he simply said “Mom” and followed up with, “I haven’t had the best day.”
“He was upset and still in a little shock from what he had seen,” Taylor said.
Archibald is at a hospital in Qatar for three weeks. He is expected to make a full physical recovery, his mother said.
Archibald is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry regiment, 3rd Brigade Infantry Combat Team, 25th Division out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
His duties include combat, searching for explosives and helping train Iraqi police officers.
He has been serving in Iraq for almost a year and is expected to return home in October for a 30-day leave.
His Columbus relatives also include his father, Ron Archibald; sisters Meghan Archibald and Jennie Moon; stepsister Ashley Taylor; and stepfather Chuck Taylor.
TANNER ARCHIBALD