VIDALIA — Specialist John Dale Loomis never strived to receive a Purple Heart but will accept it with honor next week.

Loomis of Vidalia and other members of the 1086th Transportation Company were injured after the vehicle he was driving ran over a homemade command wired bomb in Afghanistan.

The company had just left Bagram Airforce base, which is north of Kabul, and couldn’t see the bomb, which was inside a culvert.

The explosion sent the truck airborne briefly, tossing around each member inside the vehicle.

“You never know what to expect when one of these goes off,” Loomis said. “You train to the best of your ability prior to getting here, and we’re trained in different scenarios, so when something like this happens you go into ‘game mode’ and you know what to do and how to react.”

Loomis’ head and face struck the steering wheel knocking him unconscious.

“I’d come in and out of consciousness after the blast,” Loomis said. “The truck commander was trying to keep me awake and calm me down, and I don’t remember much after that.”

The first thing he did after waking up in the hospital was check to see if his limbs were still intact.

“You always hear about this stuff happening all the time, and it’s usually never a good outcome, so we’re all very fortunate we’re all still here today,” Loomis said. “All our equipment and the truck did its job.”

After regaining full consciousness and getting 17 stitches to his chin and neck, Loomis knew he had to call his family.

“The first thing I asked my Mom was if she was sitting down,” Loomis said. “I let her know that I was OK and just told her what happened.”

The call wasn’t as easy to receive for his mother Amy DeWitt.

“My first thought was that I need to get to him right then,” DeWitt said. “I sat down, and he explained everything to me and just let me know he was alright.”

The call came during a Thanksgiving retreat at a hunting lodge the family frequents.

“This Thanksgiving, I had a lot to be thankful for,” DeWitt said. “It was just tough not being able to be there for him.”

DeWitt said as much as she wanted to be there for her son, she knew there was nothing she could do.

“I’ve always told him I’ll be there for him, but sometimes I have to let him make those decisions himself,” DeWitt said. “He’s a very strong individual and very mature.”

Loomis said he was glad to talk to his family and got plenty of reassurance they were thinking about him.

“She probably called me five or 10 more times through the night just checking on me,” Loomis said.

Loomis, specialist Russell Nelson of Jonesville and Sgt. Brandon Guillot of Marksville will all receive Purple Heart decorations and a combat action badge next week.

Nelson suffered a broken arm and Guillot received stitches to his head from scrap metal.

“It’s a great honor,” Loomis said. “There are a lot of soldiers before us that have gotten this and have paid the ultimate sacrifice, so we’re just thankful that we’re still alive to receive the award.”

Loomis will continue to be treated in a dramatic brain clinic until he makes a full recovery. His tour will continue until August.