SGT. Phil Sorenson – Age 22
Williston, North Dakota

I joined the NDNG when I was 17 years old, B Company 164th Engineers out of Williston. I was attending the local community college in 2003 when my unit was activated shortly before Thanksgiving. My company, B Company 164, along with C Company 164 was combined to make up A Co 141st Engineers because the original A Co 141 was on airport security. The 141st Engineers mobilized out of Fort Carson Colorado. We spent a month and a half there then went to Iraq.

We were given a job called Taskforce Trailblazer, which entails finding bombs alongside the road. I was in Iraq for 8 and half months when a roadside bomb went off next the Humvee I was driving. It consisted of four 155-artillery rounds and three incendiary grenades. I lost my left leg below the knee and sustained injuries to my left hand. The passenger escaped the attack with a bruise on his arm. The gunner, who was my best friend Cody Wentz, was killed on November 4th, 2004 from injuries sustained to the head. He was 21 years of age.

Returning to Normalcy, Football's Not the Same
December 29, 2005
By Juliet Macur (NYT)

Click here to read more, published in the New York Times.

Clinging to Their Dream on Fields Near and Far
July 4, 2005
By Juliet Macur (NYT)

Click here to read more, published in the New York Times.