Scott Erwin came from his job in Iraq to walk across the stage with his University of Richmond graduating class on May 9.
BRUCE PARKER/TIMES-DISPATCH
During a June 2 ambush in Baghdad, Erwin was shot four times: twice in the right arm, once in the stomach, once in the left arm.Regardless of your feelings about the war, Scott deserves our thanks for serving and our prayers and good wishes for a speedy and complete recovery from his wounds.
A bullet fired into his chest missed his heart when it ricocheted off a battery that was behind the ID pouch he was wearing around his neck.
The AAA battery was a spare Erwin carried, because his MP3 player was always going dead on his morning jog around the heavily guarded Green Zone.
...
Erwin was returning from a teaching assignment when the SUV was blocked at an intersection by one car, while gunmen in another car roared up with weapons blazing.
On the wild ride back to the Green Zone and medical care, Erwin wouldn't permit himself to think about dying. He focused on remaining calm and trying to fight off shock.
A few days later, when he arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington for advanced treatment, his fraternity brothers at Sigma Phi Epsilon, faculty members and friends from all over began showing up to give him support.
Back to school
UR senior returns after a dangerous time in Iraq
I also found this bio written during his early days in Iraq.
