Mosser Receives Purple Heart for Injuries Received in Afghanistan
by Trinity Gruenberg
Retired Army Lt. Col. James Mosser, formerly of Clarissa, received the Purple Heart medal on September 2 for injuries sustained in Afghanistan 17 years ago.
In January 2009, Mosser was serving in Kabul when a car bomb exploded near his convoy.
“Your path in life can come down to small decisions, and you don’t even realize the significance of those decisions at the time,” said Mosser.
Before the attack, Mosser had completed about 150 convoys, which made him familiar with activity around the compound and helped him recognize vehicles that seemed suspicious.
On the day of the attack, Mosser was traveling with a colleague. They were already delayed after the colleague forgot her ID’s and had to go back to retrieve them. Mosser decided not to stop to refill a low tire; he thought they could do it after the short drive. As they passed a fuel truck, he noticed a white Toyota Corolla that appeared suspicious, because it was dragging low to the ground. The car pulled through an intersection and detonated a vehicle-borne IED. Mosser recalled the blast wave striking his helmet against the vehicle window and ringing in his ears.
The attack killed at least one U.S. service member and wounded multiple U.S. troops and one American civilian. At least four Afghan civilians were killed, and more than 20 others were wounded. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the intended target was foreign military personnel, including German forces operating in the area...
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