Portrait of An American Soldier
Spc. Audra Hauer was doing her duty on June 12, 2003. As a soldier with the 1161st Transportation Company of the Washington State Army National Guard, she was riding in a convoy, as an assistant driver for a Palletized Load System (PLS) tractor-trailer.Shortly after her arrival, SSG Elliott and SPC Hauer was driving along in convoy when she saw the vehicle in front of her swerve to avoid a black bag. SSG Elliott was behind the wheel at the time and tried to swerve as well, but the 5-ton tractor-trailer responded too slowly. They clipped the mine inside the bag.
SSG Elliott, who was also injured in the explosion, recalls that “an orange flame blew SPC Hauer up to the ceiling of the cab and tossed her onto the “doghouse” where the transmission and controls were located.” The truck skidded off the road and lurched to a stop. SSG Elliott tried to take her out of the cab first from one side, then the other, but it was no use. He had to wait until help arrived to cut the doors open. In an interview with Hal Burnton of the Seattle Times [2], SSG Elliott recalls; “I thought she was dead. The whole cab went dark. The next thing you know, there was a glow behind Audra.” He called Hauer’s name but heard nothing. He got out and yanked at the passenger-side door. It was jammed. He tried again. No luck. Frustrated, he reached into the cab and asked Hauer to take his hand. She responded, and they both prayed. Another soldier arrived, and they pulled Hauer out and moved her to the median. SSG Elliott told SPC Hauer she would be all right, just like he had been trained to do. She didn’t believe him. “She says, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ So then I started to get mad. I threw off my sunglasses, and I said, ‘Audra, you are going to be OK,’ and at this point she finally started to believe.” [1]
Audra Hauer went to war with her high-school sweetheart and fiance, Rick Fyhrie, whom she met while acting in a school play.
Their senior year began with the Sept. 11 attacks, and in a surge of patriotism and with a yen for adventure, they enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard. They joined the Ephrata-based 1161st Transportation Company, and after graduating, they got their basic training in Missouri. By late May, the unit was camped outside Baghdad at an abandoned farm. As the temperatures spiked at times above 130 degrees, they hauled palletized loads of supplies to U.S. camps. Hauer relished life as she learned to navigate the freeways and crowded downtown streets of Baghdad. Friendly and confident, she was a popular figure in a unit that included other young soldiers. [2]
Spc. Audra Hauer, was one of the first. Her truck was hit June 12, 2003, by an explosive device concealed in a black plastic bag. The explosion slammed her against the truck cab, fracturing her back and sending chunks of shrapnel into her body. [3] She believes she may be medically discharged from the military, but wishes she could return. “I have seen things that will always be in my heart. I fell in love with the people. Every person I met there said they had a family member that was killed by Saddam… everybody. I have seen such poverty and bondage. SPC Hauer has this to say of her experiences in Iraq; “If Americans could go there and see for themselves, I think their opinion of the war would change.” [1]
SPC Hauer sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, and owing to the sheer number of fragments, carries a few to this day. She has been very happy with her rehabilitation and states that she is often sent to the front of lines when the medical staff learns that she is a casualty from Iraq.
On March 31, 2004, Spc. Hauer was awarded the Purple Heart at a ceremony at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Spc. Audra Hauer (left), 20, of Ellensburg gets a hug from Sgt. Sally Berg on Wednesday morning at Fort Lewis after receiving a Purple Heart for wounds received in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hauer, of the 1161st Transportation Company, was injured June 12 when the vehicle she was riding in hit a land mine. [4]
What are Audra Hauer’s future plans?
“I planned to be a star in Hollywood,” she said with a wide smile. But the roll of history awakened the patriot within her, and she found herself on the way to Iraq. “I was studying about war and the people that died for our freedom and it was am inspiration to me, so that’s why I joined the service.” [1]
Hauer has completed a lengthy recovery and yesterday morning reunited with her fiance, Spc. Rick Fyhrie. The two were high-school sweethearts in Ellensburg and had gone off to war together before being separated by Hauer’s accident and evacuation to state-side medical care. The extended deployment has forced them to cancel a series of wedding dates. The latest date was Aug. 7 - but now they’re thinking of getting married sometime in the next few months, then attending college. Hauer plans to major in broadcast journalism. [3]
Citations
- [1] Wounded Guardsmen Washington National Guard
- [2] Seattle Times March 19, 2004
- [3] Seattle Times August 1, 2004
- [4] The Olympian April 1, 2004
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