Wounded Soldier Recalls Fort Hood Shooting
Staff Sgt. Paul Martin was sitting in Fort Hood's Readiness Center last Thursday, waiting to get his final medical check before deploying to Iraq. Suddenly, it felt like somebody punched him in the arm — hard.
"I said, 'Golly, this hurts.' And then I looked at my hand, and my hand was just covered in blood. And I was laying on the floor, and the floor was covered with blood," he says.
Martin was among the dozens wounded when a shooter opened fire at the Texas post, eventually killing 13 people. At the time, all Martin knew was that he had to get out of the building.
"I got up to try to get out the building, and I just went the wrong way," he remembers. "I went to the left instead of the right, and I received — feel like a shot hit me in my back. And when I hit the floor and crawled, low crawled, used my Army techniques that they taught me to get under cover."
Martin had lost the feeling in his legs, but it suddenly returned. "I jumped up, and I said, 'If I can make it to this door using my Army training, if I can make it to this door, I'll be out of here.' "
He still didn't know what was going on. "It sounded like a cannon going off."
But it was gunfire, and Martin was shot four times in one of the most heinous attacks at an Army post in decades.
Hear more of Martin's story on Thursday's Morning Edition.
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MELISSA BLOCK, host:
Soldiers who were inside Fort Hoods Readiness Center when Major Hasan allegedly struck are starting to tell their stories.
NPRs Wade Goodwyn spoke with one of them.
WADE GOODWYN: Staff Sergeant Paul Martin was sitting at the Readiness Center waiting to get his final medical check before deploying to Iraq. Suddenly, it felt like somebody punched him in the arm, hard.
Staff Sergeant PAUL MARTIN: I know Ive been hit that hard, I said, golly, this hurts. And then I looked at my hand, my hand was just covered in blood. And I was laying on the floor, and the floor was covered with blood.
And then I and I was sitting there like laying on the floor and I said, I got to get it. In my mind, I said, I got to get out of this building. I got to get out of this building. So when I got up to try to get out of the building, and I just went the wrong way to get out of the building, I went to the left instead of the right, and I received feel like a shot hit me in my back. And when I hit the floor and I crawled, low crawled, used my Army techniques that they taught me to get under cover and then I just knew Ive seen another soldier and I said, we got to get out of this building.
So what I did, I already have my feelings in my leg that time. My leg feelings came back. I jumped up, I jumped up and I said, if I can make it to this door using my Army training, if I can make it to this door, I'd be out of here. And stuff was going on in there and it sounded like a cannon going off. I dont know what it was. I didnt I cant say it was gunfire. I dont know.
GOODWYN: It was gunfire, and Sergeant Martin was shot four times in one of the most heinous attacks at an Army post in decades.
Im Wade Goodwyn, NPR News in Collin, Texas.
BLOCK: And you can hear more of Sergeant Martins story tomorrow on MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
