On one calm morning in late July 2006, a ten vehicle convoy departed its Forward Operating Base in southeastern Afghanistan. Destination: KANDAHAR. Less than five hours later one soldier awoke, burned and bloody, in a ditch on the side of the road. This is the story of Sergeant B.C. Fleming. A Team Leader in a Reconnaissance Platoon with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, Fleming recounts his grueling experience of waging war in the high-desert mountains of Afghanistan. From being shot at to getting blown up TWICE to delivering humanitarian aid to impoverished children, he candidly describes "the real story" of the war in Afghanistan as he experienced it. His story is one of truth, pain, sacrifice, soul-searching, and the unthinkable adversity American troops overcome daily in order to protect and defend the American people.
My review:
First off, this book has given me a greater appreciation for our military and what they do and go through to keep us safe, and to fight for our freedoms.
Brian gives some background on himself, and tells how and why he got into the military. His descriptions of life on the battlefield are graphic and made me able to see it in my mind.
His story is amazing. Much more so when you see the pictures of him after his run-in with a suicide bomber. He doesn't pull any punches, but tells of the pain he suffered, his doubts and anger with God, yet his story is one of hope and encouragement. He made this book into more than a story about what happened to him and how God brought him through it. He uses his story to encourage his readers that no matter what our wounds and scars, God can bring good out of them, and that often what hurts and cuts us the most, can become our greatest strength and a way to help others.
About the author:
B.C. Fleming graduated high school just north of Miami, Florida, in 2003. Ranking at the top of his class academically, he fully intended to attend college and then medical school to become a physician. But he realized, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, that he needed to rearrange his priorities.
Upon graduation from high school, Fleming enlisted in the United States Army as an infantry soldier. After spending three and one half months at Fort Benning, Georgia, Fleming was sent overseas for duty in South Korea. While there, he served as a machine gunner in a mechanized infantry platoon with the 2nd Infantry Division. In Korea, he developed a love for mountain climbing and was inspired to begin writing his first book, A Life Worth Living. Upon completion of his one-year tour in South Korea, Fleming returned to the United States and was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, 4th Brigade, at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and placed into a scout/sniper platoon as a team leader. Over the following year and a half, Fleming was promoted to corporal and then to sergeant just one week before his unit deployed to Afghanistan.
On the morning of April 18, 2006, Fleming’s vehicle was annihilated by a homemade bomb that was buried in the dirt road he was traveling. Though the vehicle was completely destroyed, Fleming walked away without a scratch. Just a few months later, on July 24, 2006, Fleming’s Humvee was blown up by a suicide bomber and, in the blink of an eye, the course of his life was changed again.
Fleming was transported home on July 27 to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for reconstructive surgery. After fourteen months of rehabilitation, Fleming was officially discharged from the US Army. He then moved to Colorado for several months to work for Dave Roever, a severely burned Vietnam veteran, who mentored Fleming in public speaking and in life, showing him how to turn tragedy into triumph and become a success in life.
A recipient of the Purple Heart, Fleming was inducted into the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in 2010. He is the author of five books, including Never the Same, the personal story of his encounter with a suicide bomber, and has appeared as a guest on several Christian television shows such as The 700 Club with Pat Robertson, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the Daystar Network and Life Today with James and Betty Robison. He has shared the stage with well-known public figures such as Governor Mike Huckabee, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Sean Hannity, Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and his close friend Dave Roever. Fleming has become best known for telling people, “Getting attacked by a suicide bomber never felt so good” because of the healing power God has brought to so many others as a result of his once devastating war injury.
Fleming now resides in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife and two children. Meet him online at
www.BlownUpGuy.com and
www.facebook.com/blownupguy.
