U.S. Paratrooper Wounded During Saudi Exercise
An Army paratrooper suffered a superficial leg wound today when struck by shrapnel from a misguided artillery shell during live-fire exercises in the Saudi desert.
The 105-millimeter round struck sand and exploded about 100 yards from an infantry platoon from the 82nd Airborne Division. The soldiers were lying in the sand to prepare for firing exercises.
One of the soldiers, identified by others in the platoon as Pvt. Gustavo Torres of Puerto Rico, was struck in the right calf by a piece of shrapnel from the artillery shell.
Torres was treated at the scene--the wound required only cleaning and bandaging--and stayed while his unit completed its training.
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