Wound: Pvt. Joshua Karnes was injured by a bullet or shrapnel in Iraq. It took nearly 100 stitches to close the wound.

By Steve Huffman

Salisbury Post

Karri Karnes got a call earlier this week from her son, Joshua, an Army private stationed in Iraq.

"Mom," he said, "I don't want you to get upset and I don't want you to get excited, but I've been wounded."

The wounds, he continued, while not life-threatening, were fairly serious. And gruesome to look at.

Joshua e-mailed his mother a photograph as proof.

"Oh, I got a big, beautiful picture," Karri said Wednesday, managing to laugh about it all.

Joshua was struck in his left cheek by a bullet or piece of shrapnel. The wound extends back in a straight line, stretching under Joshua's left ear. It took almost 100 stitches to close.

The incident happened last Thursday when members of Joshua's infantry unit were going from building to building in one of Baghdad's seedier neighborhoods. They were searching for insurgents.

Joshua is a SAW gunner. As Karri explains it, "He carries a giant gun."

Joshua and other members of his unit began taking fire as they approached a building. Karri said Joshua told her he knew immediately that he'd been hit.

Joshua initially thought his injury was more serious than it was. He told his mother that he thought he'd been hit in the neck and that the wound would kill him.

And so, in what Joshua believed would be his dying move, he tried to protect a comrade, throwing himself across a fellow soldier to shield him from bullets.

It was a noble gesture.

The fight continued for several minutes. Though another member of Joshua's unit was also wounded, everyone survived.

And Joshua is now being hailed as a hero.

"They say he's up for a medal," Karri said.

The medal, she said, is for disregarding one's own safety and striving to protect others.

Karnes

Karri said Joshua is restricted to his Baghdad base until his wounds heal. She said he had his stitches removed Wednesday and will find out Friday when he'll be allowed to return to duty.

He's anxious to do so, Karri said.

She said her son downplayed any mention that he was a hero.

"He said he didn't do anything big," Karri said, "but I disagree."

Joshua, 20, graduated in 2004 from North Rowan High School. He tried a semester at Western Carolina University, but didn't find it to his liking.

Joshua has been in the Army for two years and in Iraq for a little more than a year. His unit, which is based in Schweinfurt, Germany, is scheduled to return to the United States in late November.

Joshua was a member of the wrestling team at North Rowan. His mother said she's not surprised that, even in the midst of combat, he tried to do all he could to help others.

"He's always looked out for the underdog," Karri said. "Even when he was young, he didn't let bullies pick on anyone when he was around."

Joshua's father is Toby Karnes. In addition to Joshua, the couple have one other child, a 19-year-old daughter, Amanda. Joshua's grandparents are Glenn and Glenda Haviland and Sonny and Judy West.

Karri said Joshua stays in touch with family members regularly through e-mails and use of his cell phone. She said he's not allowed to say a great deal about exactly what it is his unit is doing in Iraq.

"He'll be glad to get home," Karri said.

Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.