Matthew Zedwick Quotations

I was so pumped up with adrenaline I didn't even know I'd been hit. The shrapnel that hit me in the wrist cauterized the wound, so I didn't bleed much.

Our job was to help secure the main supply route through raids and air assault missions. It was day and night. We never stopped. At times, we took a lot of fire. There were definitely some scary moments.

Receiving the Silver Star is a big honor, but it's hard for people to understand that I also lost a good buddy that day.

Most Iraqis are really cool people. I picked up some of their language. There are good and bad people everywhere. So many people there lived under fear. They distrust the military because it's scary for them.

It was my first real contact. I was driving and our squad leader was riding to my right in the front seat. The car bomb was in a Land Rover and we got hit in the right side. I didn't know what was happening. Smoke filled the rig. It blew us into the air and spun us around, but luckily, we landed on our wheels.

Being in the infantry is hard on family life. I want to get married someday and I want to be around for my family.

All of the guys in my unit are real heroes. They would have done the exact same thing I did. We were there to take care of our mission and of our fellow soldiers. We covered each other's back every day.