Gardnerville soldier injured in Iraq

A former Gardnerville resident is recovering after he was injured July 18 by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq.

Sgt. Michael Boyd was a gunner aboard a Stryker armored vehicle when it straddled an improvised explosive device that detonated.

The explosion injured both his ankles and he received shrapnel wounds. He was helicoptered from the scene of the incident.

Valdis Boyd said that at first medics believed he fractured both his ankles, but it turned out he only broke one.

He was taken to a military hospital in Qatar, where he has a cast on his left ankle and his right ankle is healing slowly. The cast is expected to be removed on Friday, Boyd said.

"If there is tendon or ligament damage, he will be sent to Germany," she said.

Boyd is a 2000 graduate of Douglas High School and is serving his second tour in Iraq.

Boyd's wife Jennifer lives at Fort Lewis, Wash. His parents and siblings live in Gardnerville.