Valley soldier recovers after bomb attack

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.

Valdis Boyd said her son called the night it happened and said his Stryker was passing another when the device went off.

"He said he thought at first he'd been shot because he was covered in little red droplets," she said. "But it was hydraulic fluid from the Stryker. He said he looked down and saw the hole and down he went. Everyone else in the Stryker suffered shrapnel wounds."

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

"He was so excited because he got to ride in a Black Hawk," she said.

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. "He's in really good spirits."

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

He joined the Army just out of high school and served four years. While in Gardnerville he was a Life Scout in Boy Scout Troop 411 and a member of St. Gall Catholic Church.

He rejoined the Army in January after a two-year break.

Boyd's wife Jennifer lives at Fort Lewis, Wash. His parents, Valdis and Douglas live in Gardnerville with his brother Matthew and sister Amanda.

Brother Christopher is in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Many of Boyd's relatives have served in the military including his grandfather, Master Sgt. Jerry Muceus, his father Master Sgt. Douglas Boyd, aunt Sgt. Anna Muceus and uncle Lt. Col. Robert Boyd.