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In 2003, Staff Sgts. Kimberly Voelz and her husband, Max, were serving in Iraq. Both were members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal -- the Army's elite bomb squad.
Here, Max remembers his wife, Kimberly, who died in Iraq while disarming an IED.
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Piece Description
In 2003, Staff Sgts. Kimberly Voelz and her husband, Max, were serving in Iraq. Both were members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal -- the Army's elite bomb squad.
Here, Max remembers his wife, Kimberly, who died in Iraq while disarming an IED.
Broadcast History
NPR Morning Edition 5/25/11
Transcript
Max Voelz: We deployed in 2003. We were in the same unit. She ripped bombs apart by hand in Iraq just like I did. There was no being scared, no doubt, no "I might die" -- we never talked about that. But she died on an incident that I sent her on.
That night she was at a different base and I tried to talk to her on the phone before she went -- just to tell her, like, an extra "Be careful." But she was already on her way to take care of it, so I didn't get to.
Her injuries were severe. One leg was blown off. She was in a medically induced coma when I got to the hospital. I talked to her the whole time she was in there. The nurses were telling me to talk to her because they assured me that they had seen people come out of comas before and that they remembered hearing things that people said. I mean, what are you gonna tell your wife who's dying? That you love her and you don't want he...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Time now for StoryCorps…
On this Friday before Memorial Day… a story about Max and Kim Voelz (volts)… a husband and wife who served together in Iraq…
Max and Kim worked in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit -- that's the army's elite bomb squad.
One night in 2003, Max called in the location of an explosive… and his wife was sent to disarm it.
Kim didn't survive that mission.
Max recently sat down for StoryCorps to remember her.
OUTRO:Max Voelz (volts) remembering his wife, Kim, who was killed in Iraq in 2003.
This recording will be archived along with ALL StoryCorps interviews at the Library of Congress.
Get the podcast at NPR dot ORG
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flj Tav K | Sigur Ros | Me?? su?? i eyrum vi?? spilum endalaust. | XL Recordings | 2008 | 00:20 |
Additional Credits
The Corporation of Public Broadcasting and Principal Financial Group
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