IRAQ Soldier from Salem hurt in suicide bomb blast

The wounded Salem soldier is headed to Germany to begin recovery.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Soldiers are known to collect souvenirs of their war-time exploits.
The one gathered by Pfc. Randall Clunen of Whinnery Road is special, though.
He will one day bring home the piece of shrapnel that ripped into his face Tuesday during a suicide bombing at the gate of a U.S. base in Talafar, 235 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Clunen, who just celebrated his 19th birthday Monday, was among the military guards at the base when two suicide bombers drove into the installation about 4:45 a.m.
Opened fire
Clunen, a member of the 101st Airborne Division, and his comrades opened fire and the vehicle blew up, leaving a large crater at the gate's entryway and wounding Clunen and 60 other American soldiers.
Most of the wounded soldiers were hurt only slightly by debris and flying glass, indicating that massive defenses -- sand barriers, high cement walls and numerous roadblocks leading to the entrances of bases -- have paid off for American troops occupying Iraq.
Clunen was not so lucky, his mother, Bonita Paulini, said this morning.
The military informed the family about 8 a.m. Tuesday that Clunen was seriously injured.
Parts of his jaw and many of his teeth were torn away, and he will need much reconstructive surgery, Paulini related.
The family spoke recently to Clunen, who is being transferred to a hospital in Germany.
Family members talked, and Clunen jotted his replies on paper.
"As his mother, that's not good enough for me," Paulini said. She's eager to hear her son's voice.
The strain and worry the family's undergoing is tough. Paulini said she prayed her son would escape the war unharmed. "But it always crossed my mind" that he might be wounded, or worse, she said. "It just scares you to death."
There's plenty of room for hope, though. Military authorities plan to transfer Clunen to a stateside hospital as soon as possible.
The family is planning a birthday celebration for when Clunen returns to the modest house on Salem's southeast side. A service star hangs in the window. There are yellow ribbons on the trees out front.
Observers of the war say the attack at Talafar reflects the tenacity of an enemy that seeks to undermine American resolve by inflicting mass casualties with a single strike.