Airman receives Purple Heart for service to country

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  As the convoy moved along the Iraqi road Feb. 1, Senior Airman Shawn Ryan's mind wasn't on the very real dangers he might face; they weren't on the possibility of injury or the chance that he could be killed.

They were on getting the job done. On making sure that he and his squad members would make it home. They were on manning his turret and safeguarding his friends ... then they were on survival.

Five months later on July 16, the young security forces Airman's thoughts were on the award he was about to receive and his redeployment to where he earned his Purple Heart.

Airman Ryan's Humvee encountered one of those very real dangers he kept his mind away from, an improvised explosive device. Luckily for him though, everyone in the Humvee walked away from the explosion, with him and one other servicemember being treated for injuries.

The IED explosion was directed towards the very place he stood, the turret. Airman Ryan said that had it been an inch more precise, things would have been far grimmer. His protective vest was torn to shreds, and the Humvee was destroyed. But the most precious piece of equipment, the Airman himself, escaped with only minor injuries.

Airman Ryan said he spent the next week recovering, but was eager to return to duty. Even after his very real experience with the dangers of his job, his mind was still focused on getting back into a Humvee, making the streets of Baghdad safer.

"While you're out there... I don't think about anything else," he said. "You do your job and you go home. You roll out with these guys. They're your family. We put the trust and faith with the guys we work with."

His then pregnant wife, Sandra Ryan, said she received a call from him not long after the accident. He said his squad was hit by an IED, that he was ok and that he'd call back later to tell her more.

"My stomach dropped," she said. "I sat by the phone the entire day waiting."

Maj. Gregory Nowak, 82nd Security Forces Squadron commander, officiated over Airman Ryan's award ceremony, his last act before handing command over to Maj. William Lowery, at Airman Ryan's request.

Major Nowak started out by saying nothing he could say could add to what Airman Ryan's award orders said - he managed to do so anyway.

"There are volumes that could be said about (Airman Ryan and his squad)," he said. "But they can be summarized in one word: courage. Today we recognize his courage and the courage of the men and women in his squad."

Major Nowak added "I could think of no more important a ceremony than this to officiate over."

Airman Ryan is currently home on a mid-tour leave from his voluntary 365-day deployment to Iraq, to visit and see the birth of his newborn son, two-week-old Austin.

In fact, his unit back in Iraq worked with him to ensure he was able to come home early enough to see his first-born son enter the world. Something his wife is very grateful for.

"It's sad he wasn't here (for the pregnancy) but at least he was there for the birth," Sandra said.

Airman Ryan will leave his newborn son and wife at home as he returns for the remainder of his deployment.