HOST: Marine Staff Sergeant Nick Bennett was deployed to Iraq in 2004 … soon after the start of the Iraq War … and he was stationed in a region known as the ‘Triangle of Death’.
Bennett’s assignment kept him on base … running the internet cafe … but he wanted to be out in the field.
So, he requested to join a security team led by Sergeant Major Dan Miller …
They came to StoryCorps to remember their deployment, and how it changed their lives.
Dan Miller (DM) and Nick Bennett (NB)
DM: Why did you wanna join my combat team?
NB: Both of my grandfathers are World War II vets … and I’ve always wanted to follow in their footsteps.
DM: And you had come forward and you were like, ‘Hey, I want to get out and help the mission.’
NB: A lot of Marines, that’s how we’re trained … we’re gonna go fight.
DM: Yeah. You want to face that fire.
NB: One day, we’d gotten a call to come to the command post. I heard a whistle come in over my left shoulder, and I knew what it was … And I knew I wasn’t coming home.
The rocket took off the back part of my right leg, four of my wrist bones, took off the back part of my hand, chipped a bone in my back … The shell casing impaled me in the right shoulder. And I took shrapnel in my left side and arm …
DM: And, I remember Doc told me to keep you awake. And so I was tapping ya on the face and then the taps turned to slaps, and you’d look at me, and your eyes would get bright for a second, and then they’d go dull again.
And I thought to myself, ‘You got Nick hurt. Nick should have never, ever been in that position.’ I would have dreams where the rocket was coming in, and it gave me enough time to get in front of you, and take it all. All of it …
I remember, I found your gas mask carrier, and you had a picture of your family in there. I thought, ‘I just orphaned these kids and widowed this woman.’
NB: In the hospital, my grandfather, who was a prisoner of war in Germany, called me his war hero … And I just sat there and cried, because this was the man that I idolized, growing up.
It wasn’t until years later, after Iraq, that I found out about you saving my life. I would call and just say, ‘Hey, I love you. Please call me. I need to talk to you.’
DM: With the voice messages, I’m sure I listened to them … But then out of fear, ignored them.
NB: Just so you know, I never held it against you.
DM: But, the first time meeting you, after so many years, the initial emotion was nothing but joy.
NB: It was so cool to finally see you in person to be able to thank you. You gave me a life that day.
I’ve always wanted a brother and, uh, I couldn’t think of a cooler bigger brother than you. And any chance I get to be with you, I’ll be there.
HOST: That was Marine Sergeant Major Dan Miller and Staff Sergeant Nick Bennett in Lafayette, Indiana. Today Dan and Nick are part of Wounded Warrior Project, which brought them together to meet for the first time after serving in Iraq.
