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Sounds of Christmas worth celebrating
By KASSIA MICEK
This is a Christmas Pfc. Hunter LeVine will never forget. While he may not be able to see the decorations strung up or all the gifts piled under the tree, the Iraq war veteran has something far more important – his life.
LeVine, 21, enlisted in the Army as soon as he graduated from The Woodlands College Park High School in May 2007. By that December, he was on a plane to fight in Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division, 4th Briggade, 230th Charlie Company, 2nd Platoon out of Fort Polk, La.
Five months later, his father received the call that Hunter was wounded in action.
“It’s scary getting that phone call,” Beau LeVine said. “But, it was a lot better than three men coming and telling me, ‘Sorry, we lost your son.’”
“I’m grateful to have him alive at home. He could have had a lot more damage. … He’s lucky he had no damage from the neck down. I’m happy I can hug my son and kiss my son and smell him.”
Today, Hunter, who has no sight, is celebrating Christmas surrounded by family in Louisiana, a far different atmosphere than he was in nearly eight months ago.
“We were coming from a blockade position,” Hunter said of the May 9 attack in East Baghdad.
Driving second in line in a four-vehicle convoy, Hunter’s Humvee was hit on the top corner of the passenger side by an explosively formed penetrator, what Beau calls a “tank killer,” that was positioned 15 feet from the road.
“They did it a little early, and it shot across the front of my Humvee,” Hunter said. “Once it hit the inside of the vehicle it creates a splinter effect called ‘dancing in the rain.’ It turns the inside of the vehicle into shrap metal.
“I remember very little about it, but what I remember is it’s like a sand storm inside your vehicle when you’re hit.”
Hunter was hit in his right jaw.
“My jaw was severed,” Hunter said. “My right side of my jaw was hanging down like a chin strap.”
Even after he was wounded, Hunter’s soldier instincts never left him and he continued to drive the Humvee so no other soldiers would get seriously injured.
“I remember driving and then putting the peddle to the metal and getting out of there,” he said. “Usually in EFP attacks, they’ll have a secondary attack.
“I saved some people’s lives. I’m not a hero or anything. I just did my job, what I was trained to do.”
The next thing Hunter heard was a door opening and people taking him out of the vehicle.
“All I had was a really bad headache,” he said about what he remembers.
Army Specialist Luis Garza, of Katy, performed combat lifesaving measures, which Hunter and Beau say saved Hunter’s life.
Thirty minutes after medics arrived at the base with Hunter, he was taken by a Blackhawk helicopter to the Green Zone to be stabilized before a trip to Germany, where doctors performed a 21-hour surgery. Hunter was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center, where up to 14 doctors worked on him. It was there that Hunter received his Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge.
“My dad got to put my Purple Heart and CIB on me as I was sitting in bed,” Hunter said. “It made me feel real good my sacrifices weren’t in vain. It was a really good feeling for my dad to have the honor of putting it on me. It was a pretty good day.”
After stops at a Palo Alto, Calif., VA Center and the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Beau was able to bring his son back home Nov. 21 in time for Thanksgiving.
“It’s really good to be home after being in the situation I was,” Hunter said. “I wanted to come home for the holidays because I really couldn’t handle being without my family.
“I’m happy I’m able to remember everyone. I’m glad I’m not a vegetable.”
But, a split second’s timing could have made a world of difference for the LeVine family.
“When they were driving me back to the base, I was thinking of all my friends and family and wondering if this was it for me,” said Hunter, adding he has no regrets. “Everyone goes through that. … If I wasn’t driving, someone else could have been; and they might have been worse off than I was.”
Hunter now wants to help other veterans, a lesson he may have taken from some of the celebrities and politicians who visited him at Walter Reed, including actor Gary Sinise, The Eagles, President-elect Barack Obama, actress Renee Zellweger and Gen. David Petraeus.
“They all just showed me how much they care about the troops,” Hunter said. “There needs to be more people like Gary Sinise. He just wants to help soldiers. I want to be like him someday.”
Hunter is well on his way, thanks to Blake Meaux, a 2004 graduate of The Woodlands High School, who created the Hearts for Hunter foundation.
“A lot of times, our soldiers don’t get the help they need or the support they need,” Meaux said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen to a buddy of mine.”
Together, the two friends plan to use resources provided to the foundation to help other veterans. While medical expenses are covered by the military, other assistance, such as food preparation, transportation and computers, are not.
“It’s sad to think nowadays, someone who fought for their county is not getting the help they need,” Hunter said.
The biggest thing soldiers need is support, Hunter and Meaux said.
“You don’t have to support the war, but you always have to support the troops because they’re just doing their job,” Meaux said.
Beau agreed.
“They’re the one’s giving up their lives and their loved one for a job many others don’t want to do,” Beau said. “I’m just so proud of my son because he said, ‘Yeah, I’m damaged, but I’m not as bad as some other guys.’ Hunter wants to help them through this foundation. I’m proud of him for wanting to give of himself.”
To learn more about Hunter and the foundation, visit the Hearts for Hunter website, www.heartsforhunter.com.
Kassia Micek can be reached at .
LeVine, 21, enlisted in the Army as soon as he graduated from The Woodlands College Park High School in May 2007. By that December, he was on a plane to fight in Iraq with the 10th Mountain Division, 4th Briggade, 230th Charlie Company, 2nd Platoon out of Fort Polk, La.
Five months later, his father received the call that Hunter was wounded in action.
“It’s scary getting that phone call,” Beau LeVine said. “But, it was a lot better than three men coming and telling me, ‘Sorry, we lost your son.’”
“I’m grateful to have him alive at home. He could have had a lot more damage. … He’s lucky he had no damage from the neck down. I’m happy I can hug my son and kiss my son and smell him.”
Today, Hunter, who has no sight, is celebrating Christmas surrounded by family in Louisiana, a far different atmosphere than he was in nearly eight months ago.
“We were coming from a blockade position,” Hunter said of the May 9 attack in East Baghdad.
Driving second in line in a four-vehicle convoy, Hunter’s Humvee was hit on the top corner of the passenger side by an explosively formed penetrator, what Beau calls a “tank killer,” that was positioned 15 feet from the road.
“They did it a little early, and it shot across the front of my Humvee,” Hunter said. “Once it hit the inside of the vehicle it creates a splinter effect called ‘dancing in the rain.’ It turns the inside of the vehicle into shrap metal.
“I remember very little about it, but what I remember is it’s like a sand storm inside your vehicle when you’re hit.”
Hunter was hit in his right jaw.
“My jaw was severed,” Hunter said. “My right side of my jaw was hanging down like a chin strap.”
Even after he was wounded, Hunter’s soldier instincts never left him and he continued to drive the Humvee so no other soldiers would get seriously injured.
“I remember driving and then putting the peddle to the metal and getting out of there,” he said. “Usually in EFP attacks, they’ll have a secondary attack.
“I saved some people’s lives. I’m not a hero or anything. I just did my job, what I was trained to do.”
The next thing Hunter heard was a door opening and people taking him out of the vehicle.
“All I had was a really bad headache,” he said about what he remembers.
Army Specialist Luis Garza, of Katy, performed combat lifesaving measures, which Hunter and Beau say saved Hunter’s life.
Thirty minutes after medics arrived at the base with Hunter, he was taken by a Blackhawk helicopter to the Green Zone to be stabilized before a trip to Germany, where doctors performed a 21-hour surgery. Hunter was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center, where up to 14 doctors worked on him. It was there that Hunter received his Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge.
“My dad got to put my Purple Heart and CIB on me as I was sitting in bed,” Hunter said. “It made me feel real good my sacrifices weren’t in vain. It was a really good feeling for my dad to have the honor of putting it on me. It was a pretty good day.”
After stops at a Palo Alto, Calif., VA Center and the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Beau was able to bring his son back home Nov. 21 in time for Thanksgiving.
“It’s really good to be home after being in the situation I was,” Hunter said. “I wanted to come home for the holidays because I really couldn’t handle being without my family.
“I’m happy I’m able to remember everyone. I’m glad I’m not a vegetable.”
But, a split second’s timing could have made a world of difference for the LeVine family.
“When they were driving me back to the base, I was thinking of all my friends and family and wondering if this was it for me,” said Hunter, adding he has no regrets. “Everyone goes through that. … If I wasn’t driving, someone else could have been; and they might have been worse off than I was.”
Hunter now wants to help other veterans, a lesson he may have taken from some of the celebrities and politicians who visited him at Walter Reed, including actor Gary Sinise, The Eagles, President-elect Barack Obama, actress Renee Zellweger and Gen. David Petraeus.
“They all just showed me how much they care about the troops,” Hunter said. “There needs to be more people like Gary Sinise. He just wants to help soldiers. I want to be like him someday.”
Hunter is well on his way, thanks to Blake Meaux, a 2004 graduate of The Woodlands High School, who created the Hearts for Hunter foundation.
“A lot of times, our soldiers don’t get the help they need or the support they need,” Meaux said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen to a buddy of mine.”
Together, the two friends plan to use resources provided to the foundation to help other veterans. While medical expenses are covered by the military, other assistance, such as food preparation, transportation and computers, are not.
“It’s sad to think nowadays, someone who fought for their county is not getting the help they need,” Hunter said.
The biggest thing soldiers need is support, Hunter and Meaux said.
“You don’t have to support the war, but you always have to support the troops because they’re just doing their job,” Meaux said.
Beau agreed.
“They’re the one’s giving up their lives and their loved one for a job many others don’t want to do,” Beau said. “I’m just so proud of my son because he said, ‘Yeah, I’m damaged, but I’m not as bad as some other guys.’ Hunter wants to help them through this foundation. I’m proud of him for wanting to give of himself.”
To learn more about Hunter and the foundation, visit the Hearts for Hunter website, www.heartsforhunter.com.
Kassia Micek can be reached at .
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