Whiteman Airman recalls moment of terror Published Dec. 11, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Torey Griffith 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. (AFNS) -- "I don't remember seeing a flash or hearing a boom. I just remember waking up in the turret with my head on fire." That is what Staff Sgt. Charles Holley recalled from the moment an improvised explosive device exploded and bathed his Humvee in fire last year in Tiqurit, Iraq. Manning the .50-caliber gun atop the lead vehicle in a convoy, Sergeant Holley was deployed from the 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base. "It took me a second to realize what had happened," the turret gunner said. "I took my helmet off because it was on fire, and I looked down the turret. It was all full of flames and all I could see was orange." The vehicle rolled to a stop, just off the road. Sergeant Holley then climbed out of the turret, and realized that his legs were on fire. "So I went back to what we are all taught in grade school and did the stop, drop and roll," Sergeant Holley said. "That got the fire out." Sergeant Holley then tried to rescue the driver and the convoy commander, who were trapped in the burning vehicle. "I tried to get the doors opened, but the combat locks were locked," he said. "So I tried to reach down through the turret, and get them out, but to no avail. They were already gone and I knew it, but I didn't want them to go home as charred remains. I tried to cut the seatbelts off and pull them through the turret, but the fire was burning my hands." By then, the rest of the convoy had caught up, and was taking small-arms fire from a hut across the road. Sergeant Holley refused medical treatment and helped return fire until the quick reaction force arrived. An Army tank made short work of the hut, eliminating the enemy fire. Sergeant Holley had second-degree burns on his hands and face, and an aching knee. "Later, when we got to the hospital, they discovered that I had taken some shrapnel to the leg," Sergeant Holley said. "Fortunately, it missed the bone." Sergeant Holley spent a month in Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio as military doctors treated his burns. He has made a full recovery, and has even completed another deployment since the incident. "We are fighting all over the world, deploying people all over the world, and we don't often get to hear stories like this, of our Airmen going beyond the call of duty," said Brig. Gen. Robert Wheeler, 509th Bomb Wing commander, after pinning the Bronze Star with Valor upon the sergeant's chest Nov. 25 here. As Air Force officials continue to send Airmen to answer their nation's call, the sergeant offered words of advice to encourage and prepare them for the adverse conditions they may face. "Pay attention to training, and once you get over there, pay attention to your instincts," Sergeant Holley said. "It hasn't let me down yet."