Scott Lilley joined the United States Air Force in 1999. Scott is a Staff Sergeant & trained as a military policeman. In late November 2006 he volunteered for a 365-day deployment to Iraq to train local police forces and conduct joint patrols with them in Baghdad. On April 15 Scott was in one of 5 vehicles traveling back to base after a training mission. He was the turret gunner in a Humvee with a driver, medic and interpreter.
They had just passed an IP checkpoint near base when an EFP hit Scott’s vehicle, immediately disabling it.Scott was hit by shrapnel. It ultimately was a complex attack, including gunfire and a fired RPG. The medic (White) asked all occupants to sound off, and everyone did, including Scott, who continued to do what he could to keep the rest of the convoy safe.
The medic saw that Scott had a head wound, initiated treatment (including medicine to control brain swelling), and they got him out as soon as possible – within minutes. He remained conscious for the 15 minutes it took to get him to the nearby combat support hospital. He was then airlifted to the base hospital in Balad. Medic White says that, with the severity of Scott’s injury, he shouldn’t have been able to stand up and function for as long as he did, but Scott was able to because of his strong heart and his desire to protect the rest of the unit.
Once in Balad, surgeons stitched the shrapnel entry wound at his left temple, and did exploratory surgery to determine the extent of the injury. There was only one piece of shrapnel, which doctors reported did not cause major damage along its path. It missed several important arteries and traveled to the center of his brain, where it will likely remain because the potential damage from trying to remove it could be worse. Scott was presdented the Purple Heart for his bravery.
Scott was nominated to go to the Denver Broncos Playoff game and once we heard his story we were proud to Make his warrior wish come true!
