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Saturday, April 23, 2016

A compassionate judge sentences a veteran to 24 hours in jail, then joins him behind bars

The judge knew that Sgt. Joseph Serna had been through a lot.

The former Special Forces soldier did four combat tours in Afghanistan over a nearly two-decades-long career with the U.S. Army. Through those years, the Fayetteville Observer reported, Serna was almost killed three times: once, by a roadside bomb, then again by a suicide bomber.

During a tour in 2008, Serna and three other soldiers were driving down a narrow dirt road in Kandahar when their armored truck toppled into a canal, the Associated Press reported. As water filled the vehicle, Serna struggled to escape.

It was his fellow soldier, Sgt. James Treber, who saved him.

“I felt a hand come down and unfasten my seat belt and release my body armor,” Serna recalled to the AP. “Sgt. Treber picked me up and moved me to a small pocket of air. He knew there was not enough room for both of us to breathe so he went under water to find another pocket of air.”

Treber died from the accident, but Serna survived. He was the only one who did.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This vet has had enough chances. I have my problems with PTSD and I hold myself accountable for my actions. Anger issues I understand. Repeated drunk driving is nothing but an addiction and crutch.

Anonymous said...

^^^ try the special forces, serve as he did, and then get back to me hot shot.

Anonymous said...

The Judge: He is the man!

Anonymous said...

How about the judge give him a year and serve together.

Anonymous said...

Ira Hays for those that know their history. Our fighting men are subjected to some terrible things but we can't have them killing innocents with drunk driving.