Armored vehicle saved National Guardsman

Armored vehicle saved National Guardsman
'For some reason, I knew I was going to be OK'
KATHRYN WELLIN
Staff Writer

Army National Guardsman Dale Beatty of Statesville patrolled near his base in northern Iraq for eight months waiting for a fully armored vehicle.

The day after one arrived, it saved his life but not his legs.

Without the Humvee's armored floors, Beatty thinks, he would have died when his unit drove over anti-tank mines two months ago.

Beatty is at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, now and for many months. He is one of 10,372 U.S. soldiers injured in Iraq who must recarve their lives.

He is 26 and not bitter.

"I'm not angry, because I still have my life," he said in a phone interview from his family's lodgings at the medical complex. "I'm still alive. I'm with my family, my boys and my wife, so I'm thankful, you know?"

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Want to Help?

To contribute to Beatty's house fund, call the Rev. David Comer at the Monticello UMC office, (704) 924-8322. To write Beatty, send mail to him at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fisher House 2, 6900 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20307.