Opinion ID: 203199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: NBC Nightly News

Text: Damon was an Army Reserve Sergeant who served in the National Guard's 126th Aviation Unit based at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On October 21, 2003, while on active duty at the National Guard facility in Balad, Iraq, a tire on a Black Hawk helicopter exploded while he and another reservist were servicing the aircraft. As a result of the explosion, Damon lost his right arm near the shoulder and his left arm above the wrist; the Army reservist who was assisting Damon was killed. Following the incident, Damon was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. (Walter Reed), where he was treated by Army medical personnel with a new pain blocker. On October 31, 2003, while Damon was awaiting surgery, an anesthesiologist asked him to do an interview with Brian Williams of NBC about the new pain blocker. Although heavily sedated, he agreed to the interview. In the NBC clip, Damon appears on the screen for less than thirty seconds, speaking to an interviewer regarding the new pain blocker with his injured arms in bandages. The interview consisted of the following colloquy: Brian Williams: Sergeant, how are you doing? Damon: Pretty good. Corp. Nelson: The stories get more wrenching from room to room. Sergeant Peter Damon from Brockton, Massachusetts, lost both arms. Damon: Like I still feel like I have hands. Corp. Nelson: Yeah. Damon: And the pain is like my hands are being crushed in a vice. But they do a lot to help it. And they take a lot of the edge off of it. And it makesmakes it a lot more tolerable, you know, so I can just be a lot more comfortable. II can't imagine not having them.    Brian Williams: And one more thing, if you're looking for anti-war sentiment, you won't find it on Ward 57 of Walter Reed. These men, with catastrophic wounds are, to a man, completely behind the war effort. In fact, many want to go back. They miss their units, and they miss their buddies. It is hard to look at their wounds sometimes. It is impossible not to admire their bravery. NBC aired Damon's interview as part of its evening news broadcast.