Purple Heart

Wellsville Daily Reporter

Last week, while recovering an Army vehicle in Iraq, Schweigart, 22, was shot by a high-powered rifle and had a bullet pass through his arm and chest. The bullet went through his nipple and into his Bible. Hitting the Bible may have saved his life.

“I was very, very lucky … it just missed every organ, including my heart,” said Schweigart. “I got the Bible in boot camp. I always carry it. Just because I usually read it a lot. I read it in basic and I felt I should not go into combat without it.

“The way the bullet hit the Bible, it didn’t hit the front cover, it hit it the skinny way and it stopped it from ricocheting into my (protective armor) plate and back into my chest,” he added.[snip]

“It felt like someone took a sledgehammer and hit me. I didn’t realize it did as much damage as it did, but I knew I was hit immediately,” he said. “First I went down, I was dragged by Staff Sergeant Villalobos and Pvt. Lee — they dragged me behind a truck, then another truck came and (blocked them from where the shot came from). I actually got up and walked with a little help to a tank, about 30 to 35 feet and made it back in.”

Schweigart said the pain started when he hit the ground and it continues today. But between the pain and treatment, he shares the story of the Bible.

“It’s very interesting. The funny thing is, no one realized it hit the Bible,” Schweigart said. “My Lt. Colonel was standing next to me and asked me if I needed anything. I said ‘yea, I need my Bible.’ He reached in my pocket and saw it, and there was the bullet.”

Now he’s trying to get it back.

“I have to do a lot of paperwork to fill out to get it,” he explained. “Because the bullet is fully intact, it’s considered a war trophy. But my leadership is on top of that so I can bring it home.”

Read the entire story at the link.