CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Staff Sgt. Alan Padgett came home from his deployment with a memento he'd rather have left back in Iraq: a piece of shrapnel lodged in his chest from a rocket propelled grenade attack.
The sergeant, a network management technician with the 437th Communications Squadron here, was injured while at Ali Base, Iraq, only two weeks before his scheduled redeployment date. He was awarded a Purple Heart for the injury.
"I was asleep in my tent when I heard the explosion. I immediately jumped off my bed and crammed underneath it," he said. "It was only then did I realize my shoulder was hurt and blood was squirting out."
Sergeant Padgett was in his tent with two other Airmen when the RPG exploded about 100 feet away. The blast shredded an empty transient tent and also peppered Sergeant Padgett's tent, in the next row.
"I didn't know the other guys were even there until I heard them talking after the blast," he said. "I yelled 'I'm hit' and they came to assist me."
The centimeter-and-a-half piece of metal hit Sergeant Padgett in the shoulder and tracked around to his chest, where it remains.
"I didn't see an exit wound so I had no idea where it was," he said.
After Army medics responded, the sergeant was taken to the base's hospital where x-rays confirmed what was in his body.
"The doctors said it would probably cause more damage if they tried to take it out," he said. "Hopefully, my body will force it to the surface and I'll be able to remove it."
Later that night Sergeant Padgett called his wife, Chrissy, and told her about the attack.
"I asked him 'are you serious?'" she said. "I know these kinds of things are always a possibility but I was still shocked to hear that he was hurt."
While Sergeant Padgett was awaiting transport to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
"It's really not something that you hope to get," he said. "I'm glad I was able to stand to receive the medal. Not too many people are able to do that."
Now back at Charleston, Sergeant Padgett will take some time off before going back to work. His wife and kids will make sure he's taken care of.
"Our 4-year-old knows that daddy has a boo-boo," said Mrs. Padgett. "The first time he saw it he asked if 'daddy needed a band aid.' We're glad he's doing ok."