Pittsburg soldier returning to U.S.

Despite the best efforts of the Taliban, Sgt. Matthew Lamb will celebrate his 21st birthday on Sept. 2.
Lamb, son of Michael and Felicia Lamb, Pittsburg, suffered serious injuries from a roadside bomb Saturday — Friday, our time — in the Korenjal Valley, Afghanistan.
He is now recuperating at a military hospital in Germany, and is due to be flown to Fort Hood, Texas, on Friday, according to his father.
Lamb is a member of Company HHC, First Infantry, Third Brigade, based at Fort Hood.
“Matt and two others were in a humvee, the last vehicle in a convoy,” Lamb said. “I guess they waited until the last vehicle to set the bomb off. The driver took the worst of it and was killed. The gunner was riding in the turret, was ejected and thrown 150 meters and landed on his back.”
The other vehicles in the convoy didn’t immediately realize what had happened.
“Matt was the only one still mobile, so he took care of the others,” Lamb said. “He found a weapon and stood guard until help came. They were stranded there about 20 minutes, and were pretty scared.”
Sgt. Lamb suffered a concussion, blown eardrum and shattered elbow, and took shrapnel in his arm and shoulder.
“Matt has some rehabilitation to do to get his arm working again, but he’s doing well,” his father said. “The gunner suffered multiple back fractures, but they’re pretty sure he’ll walk again.”
A Pittsburg High School graduate, Sgt. Lamb has been in the U.S. Army a little over two years. He spent his first year stationed in Korea.
“When we first heard that he was going to Afghanistan, we thought that at least it wasn’t as bad as going to Iraq,” Lamb said. “Then Iraq quieted down, and Afghanistan went nuts. He’d only been over there since around June 1.”
Sgt. Lamb has been awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge. His parents are proud, and, most of all, very grateful that that their son survived the bombing.
“We got very, very lucky,” Lamb said. “I know this is a horrible thing to happen, but we feel like we won the lottery.”