Yesterday on the way back to the FOB from a mission my truck was the lead humvee and the second in line of the entire convoy. Not far from our base we came upon some people standing by the road looking down at other people. As we got closer, I could see what looked like a motorcycle on the side of the road, and down from the road were two people laying there. As we passed, the people standing next to the road tried to wave us down and were pointing down to the two people laying on the ground. I looked down as we shot past and saw blood all over the dirt and knew someone had a motorcycle accident. I told my driver to stop and I got out along with some ANA and ran back to the accident scene.
When I came up on it, there was a kid about 15 years old rolling back and forth covered in dust and blood. His face was all smashed and bloody, so the ANA grabbed him and threw him in one of their trucks to rush him to the hospital about 5 kilometers away. I looked at the other person who was probably between 21-24 years old and realized there was nothing to do for this guy. Locals were running over a cloth to cover his body up. I saw something that I never could imagine I would ever see in my lifetime. I saw what the inside of a skull looks like without a brain. His brain was laying next to him in a mush. His head had been split open right above the eyes and pulled back, the brain had been ripped from his head and lay on the ground. I sat there for a second amazed that the inside of the skull was so dark. It was literally a black hole. The poor guy never had a chance and I don’t think he suffered since the impact looked so severe that he must have split his head on impact.
I have seen pictures of brains in laboratories or whatever, and seen parts of them coming out after a bullet wound, but never seen one so whole outside the body and in such bad shape. I also have never seen the inside of a head without one. Wasn’t really shocking, but is something I don’t think I will ever forget. Bottom line is that Helmets save lives and people in this country rarely ever use them.
