
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff explains the Viper fiber communications terminal to ABC’s Bob Woodruff onboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 en route to Afghanistan, July 14, 2009. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley. Cleared for release by the Joint Staff Public Affairs
by Rosette Royale, Contributing Writer
In 2006, journalist Bob Woodruff went to cover the war in Iraq. But when he suffered a brain injury caused by an IED, he became part of a different story.
The Marines knew Taji, Iraq, was a bad area. The city, roughly 12 miles north of Baghdad, housed lots of insurgents. But the information didn’t stop the military convoy that rolled through the city on Jan. 29, 2006.
Standing up in the back hatch of a light-armored tank, the lead vehicle in the convoy, TV journalist Bob Woodruff prepared to tape a segment for ABC. He and his cameraman wore body armor and protective helmets. Without warning, an improvised explosive device blew up near the tank.
There was a BANG. Everything shook. Then it all came to a standstill. And Woodruff, who had succeeded Peter Jennings as ABC World News Tonight co-host only weeks before, fell over in the tank.
Shrapnel tore a hole in Woodruff’s neck. Another piece sliced into the left hemisphere of his brain. Convulsions shook his body. Trying to stanch the flow of blood, a soldier pressed his hand over Woodruff’s neck. “Come back!” the Marines yelled at him. “Come back!”
Indeed, for a brief moment, Woodruff came back and opened his eyes. He asked a question. Then he slipped back into unconsciousness.
He and the cameraman underwent emergency surgery in a U.S. Air Force hospital near Balad, Iraq. From there, both were airlifted to a hospital in Germany. In serious condition, Woodruff was flown to the Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he stayed in a medically induced coma for more than a month. Finally awake, he required months of therapy for brain-related trauma. (The cameraman fully recovered.) Continue reading