Beacon July 2022

Page 4A THE BEACON July 2022
Continued from page 1A
the basketball team.
Making the choice to serve
his country was easy for Brett.
Serving America was a family
tradition: His grandfather, Jerry,
was an army paratrooper.
His great grandfather served
in the United States Navy in
WWII. Another grandfather
served in the Air Force in
Vietnam.
He was only eighteen years
old and still in high school
when he made his commitment
to the United States
Army- it was December 7,
2008.
Brett entered basic training
immediately after graduation
in May of 2009. After basic
training, he was assigned to
the 25th Infantry Division and
was stationed at Fort Wainwright,
Alaska- near the North
Pole. He then transferred to
Ft. Irwin, California for Desert
Training. On Easter weekend,
April 21, 2011, his unit
was assigned to Afghanistan,
on the outskirts of Kandahar.
Like Lt. Fitch, his Country
had called and he was ready
to go.
PFC Bondurant’s duty was
to lead a platoon of thirty
men and search for IEDs- Improvised
Explosive Devices.
Private Bondurant would
Here am I, Send me! (cont.)
carry a mine-sweeping device
at the head of his platoon to
locate the IEDs. This device
was called a “mine hound”
or GPR (ground penetrating
radar). Some of these IEDs
were constructed to be set
off by a cellphone. Others
would ignite after a person
stepped on a pressure plate
on the mine. When the person
stepped off of the mine, the
release of pressure would
cause the explosion. Some
IEDs were placed to destroy
vehicles. Some devices were
filled with nuts, bolts, and
other objects to cause as much
damage as possible. Their
purpose was to kill or maim
American soldiers.
Brett believed in America’s
mission and he felt that we
were trying to do the right
thing. Most importantly,
he and his fellow soldiers
believed in each other. As he
walked into an area with his
mine sweeper, his comrades
would follow and literally
step in his footsteps. Brett
loved his job and he proudly
accepted the duty to protect
his friends and fellow
soldiers. All of their lives
depended on him. He proudly
accepted his responsibility.
Brett considered it an honor
to walk shoulder to shoulder
with the best and bravest men
he would ever know.
In September of 2011,
Brett’s unit moved to an area
on the outskirts of Kandahar,
known as Mushan. Intelligence
indicated there was
significant production and
placement of IED’S. They
found cashes of guns, ammunition,
and bomb-making
materials. It was a dangerous
mission in a dangerous place.
In fact, on September 26, a
close friend in a sister platoon
had stepped on an IED and
suddenly became a double
amputee.
On September 28th, PFC
Bondurant’s unit received additional
intelligence. A compound
that they were searching
that day would be a “hot
spot”. Brett and his comrades
entered the area with PFC
Bondurant in the lead. He led
them down a pathway through
a compound with numerous
mud huts. Like every other
day, PFC Bondurant’s mission
was to find the danger,
remove the danger, and keep
his fellow soldiers safe.
In front of the doorway to
one hut, with his mine sweeper
in hand, Brett stepped with
his right foot into a hole.
When he stepped off there
was a massive explosion and
the mud hut collapsed. PFC
Bondurant was knocked to the
ground in a cloud of fire and
dust.
Amazingly, Private Bondurant
did not lose consciousness.
He did temporarily lose
his vision and it felt like all
the bones in his feet had been
broken. It seemed strange
that he was not bleeding. In
fact, fire from the explosion
had cauterized his wounds.
Although he did not realize it
at the time, both his legs had
been blown off and the pain
that he felt in his feet was a
phantom pain from his missing
limbs that he still feels
today.
Brett’s fellow soldiers were
yelling for him. He could not
speak because he was choked
with debris and mud and
blood. The platoon’s medic
rushed toward Brett and
talked to him in the chaos of
the moment. But as the brave
medic approached, he also
stepped on an IED and immediately
lost a leg.
The explosion from this
second IED caused additional
burns and injuries to
Brett. As Brett tried to speak
to his injured medic, a third
IED exploded and additional
troops were wounded. A call
was made for a helicopter
medivac. PFC Bondurant and
six other soldiers had been
injured.
Brett still had not lost
consciousness but based upon
the seriousness of his injuries,
he was the first taken in
the medivac. He was placed
into an induced coma for the
helicopter flight. He still did
not know the extent of his
injuries.
Private Bondurant woke up
nine days later in a hospital
in Kandahar and learned that
his nose had been split in two
and that he had received serious
burns. After six or seven
days, he was transferred to
Landstuhl Medical Center
near Ramstein, an Air Force
base in Germany. He did not
wake up again until he was
on a flight back to the United
States.
He flew home on a C130
with other seriously injured
troops. He was still on a
breathing machine. The
breathing tube was removed
on the flight. He remembered
a nurse giving him his first
solid food in days- a yellow
skittle; it was a small thing,
but he will never forget how
special it felt.
Brett was then taken to
a military hospital in San
Antonio Texas- Ft. Sam
Houston. He was in and out
of consciousness for days. In
those brief conscious moments,
he remembered always
seeing his grandfather, mother,
father, and his fiancé London.
Each day he awakened and he
learned that there would be
more treatments. Each day it
seemed that there were more
surgeries on his nose, his arms,
his shoulders, and his shattered
pelvis. He was in a full body
cast- burns and scabs covered
his entire body. Due to the fog
of drugs and his injuries, each
day he had to relearn that he
had lost his legs.
After twenty-eight more
days in the hospital, he was
finally able to start eating and
start recovering. He was finally
able to leave with his family
for a few hours and began
feeling like a human being,
again. He received encouragement
from soldiers who
had received similar injuries.
He heard their experiences
and he learned how they were
able to cope and rehabilitate.
Hearing from these mentors
gave him hope for the future.
Brett’s future life began again
while recovering in Texas. He
proposed to his wife London
and they were married on
November 5 in San Antonio.
Continued on page 5A
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