Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson’s reports from Iraq have been both vivid and insightful. In today’s column, Johnson recounts how the war got a little more up-close-and-personal than he probably had hoped for.

We were rolling south in a three-vehicle convoy down Route Bug, an increasingly dangerous stretch of dirt road leading south out of Baghdad, and the site of at least three roadside bomb attacks on U.S. troops in the previous 24 hours.

Then, a brilliant flash of bright reds and deep, tangerine-colored orange burst just outside my window.

…

The rear passenger side area where I was seated took the brunt of the blast. It lifted me out of my seat, and sent my Kevlar-helmeted head into the roof.

Lights out.

Go read the whole thing.

Daniel Brogan
Daniel Brogan
Daniel Brogan is the founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of 5280 Publishing, Inc.