Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva was the first
American wounded in the war in Iraq. He is one of many soldiers
who have made great sacrifices while fighting for their countries but
who's heroism is being downplayed by
people who oppose them just because they happen to be gay.
ABC News has this story about Alva:
Staff Sgt. Eric Alva had no specialized
skills, but he was a decorated staff sergeant who had served in Somalia
and Japan. As troops began to push into Iraq, on March 21, 2003, Alva
was leading 11 Marines among 75 or so sailors and Marines in a 50- to
55-vehicle convoy on its way from the desert in Kuwait to Basra, Iraq.
It was a logistical convoy moving through the desert at night, lights
out, night-vision goggles on. The sand was so kicked up it was nearly
impossible for Alva to even keep track of the vehicle in front of him.
At one of three stops along the way, Alva, who hadn't eaten for a full
day, was heating up an MRE when he went to get something out of his
Humvee.
"I took maybe a step or two," Alva said, "and that is when the explosion
went off." It was a land mine. "I stepped on a land mine with my right
foot," Alva said. "The explosion went off and threw me about 10 feet. I
was in severe pain."
His hearing was temporarily lost, so he couldn't hear his own screaming.
His hand was covered in blood; the tip of the index finger on his right
hand was blown off, and the nerves had been damaged forever. Marines ran
to him.
"They lifted my left foot and cut the bootlaces from the bottom, and
they lifted my heel, and they took the boot off from the heel," Alva
said. "And they never touched the right leg. So I remember even asking
the chaplain, 'What is wrong with my legs? What is wrong with my legs?'
And the chaplain - because we had chaplains with us - and he said,
'There is nothing wrong. You are fine. You are fine.'" But he wasn't.
Evacuated to Kuwait by helicopter, Alva woke up hours later in the
post-op recovery room. His leg was gone.
Now, Alva has come out, and he's working
with the Human Rights Campaign to speak out against the military "Dont
Ask, Dont Tell" policy banning gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from
serving in the armed forces. On Feb. 28, 2007, he joined Rep. Marty
Meehan, D-Mass., in calling for an end to this destructive ban. Click to
play to watch a video of Alva speaking on Capitol Hill:
It was a logistical convoy moving through the desert at night, lights
out, night-vision goggles on. The sand was so kicked up it was nearly
impossible for Alva to even keep track of the vehicle in front of him.
At one of three stops along the way, Alva, who hadn't eaten for a full
day, was heating up an MRE when he went to get something out of his
Humvee.
The Hunk
