“They Took Out A Shrapnel The Size Of A Fifty-Forint Coin From My Right Upper Arm”

"On February 7, around 11 o"clock we completed a medium-term project reconnaissance in the Andara Valley, on the border of Deh-e Selah and Banu provinces. We were on our way back when we ran into the ambush of a smaller group" – Captain László Lengyel, one of the troops who were injured in the RPG attack told honvedelem.hu. "They fired two RPG grenades at us. One hit my vehicle, the exact side and window where I was sitting. The second grenade went away between the second and the third car. The one that hit our vehicle exploded near the window, and the pieces of shrapnel splintering from the grenade injured us," continued the captain, who also showed us the wounds on his face. "The right side of my face, my right upper arm and left hand were wounded, my comrade, Árpád Kovács also hurt the right side of his face and his right arm. In the hospital they stitched up my face and hand and Árpád’s arm as well – his injury was more serious and they had to turn a skin lobe against his index finger to avoid further damage to the tendon. From my right arm, they took out a shrapnel roughly the size of a fifty-forint coin, but there was another shrapnel behind my ear – they removed it too and stopped the arterial bleeding.

László said they withdrew to a safe distance and their commander told them that they were attacked with RPGs. The medical staff immediately looked after the wounded members of the convoy. "Arterial bleeding started on my left hand as well. They quickly dressed our wounds and the medical staff decided that we need MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation – editor’s note) and they took over the further tasks. In the meantime my deputy sent his report and the medical unit arrived in an hour. They took us to the hospital in Kunduz by helicopter. There we were treated by American and German doctors who also performed the aforementioned surgeries."

I asked László how they processed the events, whether this incident has taken a heavy toll of them, but László smiled: "As a matter of fact we processed the attack in a peculiar way: we did not despair. We faced the situation almost happily, we were laughing all the way – it is obvious that this is how the shock manifested itself. It helped us so that spiritually, there are no marks left on either of us."

Nevertheless, the soldiers’ families did not receive the news so well. "When my wife learned what happened from the chief of staff I was not in a condition to speak with her. I managed to send an SMS from the telephone of a liaison lieutenant colonel. I wrote we had a very difficult day and I was a bit tired," said László, laughing. He added: "Of course, we spoke on the telephone the following day, and I assured her that we have everything, we can move our limbs, and everything is fine. Then I went back to the camp in Pol-e Khumri, where we could talk on Skype – and she could see it in the video that I told her the truth," says László who, together with contracted Corporal Árpád Kovács, still receives follow-up treatment in Hungary but the only thing they have to concentrate on now is recovery.

Finally I ask László what’s next. The answer is short and concise: "If they say we have to go, then we have to go. We are soldiers."