IN CASE YOU ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT THIS BEING A "REAL" WAR ZONE

This was a HUMMV in Baghdad.

Al Mansour is so treacherous that the Baumholder, Germany-based unit has pinned Purple Hearts on 10 of its 90-some soldiers. One soldier even has two. Last month, its medic died during a grenade attack and a hard hail of gunfire.

“It’s crazy around here, sir,” says Cpl. Wayne Santos, pulling guard duty out front. He pulls back his Kevlar collar to expose a bulging lozenge of a scar. “I was lucky, because I’ve got a 1½-inch hole that goes through the back of my neck.”

Yes, lucky. Lucky to be alive


Photo credit: Ward Sanderson / Stars & Stripes