CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A former soldier injured in Iraq is getting a refund after being forced to pay for his missing body armor vest, which medics destroyed because it was soaked with his blood, officials said.
First Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV, 25, had to leave the Army with a shrapnel injury to his arm. But before he could be discharged last week, he says he had to scrounge up cash from his buddies to pay $632 for the body armor and other gear he had lost.
Rebrook, who graduated from West Point with honors, said he was billed because a supply officer failed to document that the vest was destroyed as a biohazard. He said a battalion commander refused to sign a waiver for the vest, saying Rebrook would have to supply witness statements to verify the vest was taken from him and burned.
"When that vest was removed from my bleeding body in Iraq, it was no longer my responsibility," Rebrook said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., questioned Gen. Peter Schoomaker, chief of staff of the Army, on Tuesday during a Senate Armed Services Committee budget hearing, and on Wednesday an Army official said Rebrook would get a refund for the $510 vest, and about $50 for a canteen and other items in the vest.
