MOSUL, IRAQ (December 5, 2005) – Evangelical Covenant Church Chaplain Cpt. John Grauer recently escaped unharmed when the armored Humvee he was driving was struck by a roadside bomb known as an improvised explosive device (IED).
“The vehicle I was driving was hit by the blast and the hood of our vehicle was on fire,” says Grauer. That explosion was followed by several others.
Grauer’s Humvee was leading three Stryker armored personnel carriers around 7:30 a.m. one morning as part of an effort to assist some of the Iraqi leadership in distributing food and other assistance to Iraqi residents, including children. (To read a brief account of distributing the gifts to children, please see Big Smiles.)
“The vehicle I was driving was hit by the blast and the hood of our vehicle was on fire,” says Grauer. That explosion was followed by several others.“My first reaction was wow, I can’t believe we have been hit,” says Grauer. “My second reaction was to drive fast and get out of here. Within about 10 seconds the fire on the hood was out, and I drove fast trying to avoid any other IED’s and to make sure everyone on the vehicle gets to a place of safety.”
No one was injured, and the blasts did not deter the soldiers, Grauer says. “After driving out of the explosions we continued with our mission. I know that God has his hand of protection on my life, and his hand has been on many of the soldiers in the battalion,” says Grauer, who serves the 4-23 Battalion.
The IED’s have become the deadliest weapon against U.S. troops, according to news reports. The explosives are small bombs that are planted in the ground or mixed in roadside debris and usually detonated by remote control. It was an IED that killed Covenanter Army Sgt. Russell Verdugo on May 23 as he tried to warn other soldiers of a similar bomb.
Grauer says he covets and appreciates the prayers of Covenanters everywhere. “I want to come back home to my wife, Tyra, and daughters Maleah and Morriah.”
Grauer is the writer and editor of the battalion newsletter and often takes pictures of the missions on which he accompanies the troops. Covenant News Service will continue to publish online news reports about Covenanters and their work in Iraq as the material becomes available.
(Editor’s note: to read a previously published account about Sgt. Verdugo, please see Brave Soldier.
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