Saluting American Valor: 'Seriously wounded by enemy fire, he stayed in charge and coordinated his unit's escape'
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</p>The feeling of weightlessness was a surprise.


<p>Blown out of the hatch of his Stryker vehicle and into the air, Staff Sgt. Jon Hilliard landed heavily on top of his vehicle, his head twisted in the camouflage netting. Flames licked upward from the back of the armored vehicle, and smoke poured from the troop compartment below.
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<p>"We were in column formation and moving down an alleyway between neighborhoods in Baqubah, Iraq, when we ran over a deep-buried IED," Hilliard remembered of the March 24, 2007 explosion. "The EOD (explosive ordnance detachment) guys in front had detected it, but it went off about 10 feet behind us, only seconds after we received the radio message."
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<p>The IED, or improvised explosive device, had been buried in the sewer system, a favorite location for the enemy.
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<p>Feeling an intense pain in his leg, the weapons squad leader quickly checked for blood or shrapnel. Finding none, he called down into the compartment, "Hey! Is everybody OK?"
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<p>Inside, the radio operator yelled back, "Some of the guys are hurt. We need to get them out of here!"
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