Published: November 18, 2009 08:34 pm      

Local soldier wounded in action

BLUEFIELD, Va. — A local soldier wounded by enemy combatants following a weekend ambush in Afghanistan is recovering at a Germany hospital.

Adam Repass, 19, a native of Bluefield, Va., was shot in the leg over the weekend after his unit was ambushed in the Korengal Valley section of Afghanistan. The bullet struck a main artery in the soldier’s leg, according to his mother Suzanna Repass of Bluefield, Va.

“They (his fellow soldiers) did save his life out there because he was bleeding to death,” the soldier’s mother said. “He was on the very critically injured (list). But he’s moving right up. He’s very young and very strong.”

Repass said her son was with about 20 other soldiers when they were ambushed in the region known as the “Valley of Death.” Repass is hoping to travel to Germany this weekend to visit her son.

“It’s been very hard,” she said. “I was just in shock. But there’s been so many people that want to help. So many people are praying for him. I know it was just a miracle from God that he’s coming home. I give God all of the credit for bringing him home and keeping him safe. I pray for all of the other (soldiers) who are over there.”

The local chapter of the American Red Cross stands ready to help the family, Phyllis Sheets, manager of the local Red Cross chapter, said.

“We are working to see what will be needed,” Sheets said. “The American Red Cross is on standby to help them with what is needed. It has been in contact with the family.”

Repass, a soldier with the United States Army, has been stationed in Afghanistan for the past six months.

“He lived in Bluefield, Va., and went to Graham High School,” the mother said. “He’s 19. He’s always wanted to be in the Army. He is a soldier through and through.”

Repass said her son has called several times since being shot, including Wednesday afternoon while a Daily Telegraph photographer was at the woman’s home. When asked how he felt by his mother, the soldier quipped “I feel like I got shot in the leg.”

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com