Paying the price

Paying the price


Stories by CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE

Spc. Travis Williams turned from the driver’s hatch toward the screams behind him but couldn’t see through the smoke.

Pain seared his shoulder and arm, but the young soldier kept driving — hauling butt away from the ambush as a machine gun spun over his head.

He floored the “track” — the armored personnel carrier — intent on saving himself and the five other Fort Carson soldiers inside.

“Finally, I looked back again, and the smoke was cleared.”

The interior was red with blood. Three soldiers lay there, each with a leg blown off.

[partial text only; follow link for full article]