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Two Purple Hearts in two weeks
May 28, 2004 
Staff Sgt. Robert D. Whisenant points out where his vehicle was
damaged. Staff Sgt. Robert D. Whisenant, a squad leader with the
1st Calvary, recently became eligible for two Purple Heart medals
within a two-week period.
Whisenant was wounded for the first time April 29 while conducting
an IED sweep along "RPG Alley."
"Just before midnight, a rocket-propelled grenade flew out
of an alley from about 100 meters away," he recounted. The
blast threw all the passengers to the floor and knocked out Whisenant.
But he and the gunner got back up and returned fire. “I grabbed
the 240B machinegun and we just started rocking,” Wisenant said.
Then, on May 6, Whisenant was hit again, this time by an IED. "On
the way back to our mission site an IED went off next to the left
track of my vehicle right next to the driver," he explained.
"It blew out our communications, knocked me to the floor for
a few seconds. That's when I noticed that a piece of shrapnel had
come up and hit me in the neck. I could feel it burning, so I reached
up and pulled it out."
"I may be eligible for two Purple Hearts, but with 10 months
left to go I'm not looking for three," Whisenant said jokingly.
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