“It’s a nightmare,” Diane Yantz, Joe’s mother, said.
Diane
said her husband, Jerry Yantz, was the first person to receive word
from the Army. “My husband was working in Michigan,” Diane said. “They
called his cell phone.”
Jerry immediately called Diane to tell her the news.
“My ears didn’t want to hear,” Diane said.
According to Diane, the U.S. Army communications office read her the report concerning Joe’s injuries.
“They said Joe was on a dismounted patrol and was attacked,” she said. “There was a roadside bomb.”
Joe
sustained moderate injuries to his right thumb and face and neck, which
were peppered with shrapnel from the bomb. He also has lacerations
around his eyes.
“They said he won’t have any vision loss,” Diane said. “His glasses might have saved his eyes.”
The
Army also reported Joe had to have his right leg amputated above the
knee and surgery was performed on his left leg and arm.
“This is horrific,” Diane said. “But, we are thankful he’s alive.”
Joe,
a U.S. Army public securities specialist, was based at Fort Bragg and
had been deployed to Afghanistan since September 2009.
“This was his first tour,” Diane said.
Diane
said Joe was awake and coherent following his surgery and was stable
enough to be transferred to Germany. From there her son will be flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.
On
Friday afternoon, Diane sat at her kitchen table with her hands wrapped
around a cup of coffee with the words “Army Mom” written on it. She said she is still waiting to hear when Joe will arrive stateside.
“I’m just waiting for phone calls,” she said. “I don’t dare leave the house.”
As
the family sits together in their home waiting on news about Joe, they
remember funny things he did as a child like lassoing his brother and
sticking a key into a light socket.
“He was a stubborn, reckless child,” Diane said with a smile.
Joe’s
sister, 22-year-old Redina Yantz, said her brother wanted to be a
cowboy when he was younger and wouldn’t remove his hat, belt or boots.
“He was a kook,” Diane said.
Diane
said she homeschooled Joe through the eighth grade. When high school
rolled around, she began looking outside their hometown of Appleton
for a larger school with more course offerings. According to Diane, Joe
fought the move until he learned about the newly-formed Junior Reserve
Officer Training Corps being offered at Smith-Cotton High School.
“JROTC is what pushed us here (to Sedalia),” Diane said.
Joe
enrolled at Smith-Cotton High School his freshman year and took part in
the JROTC program until he graduated in 2007. Joe’s brother,
14-year-old Henry Yantz, said his brother was a JROTC hero.
“He was like, me lead you follow,” Henry joked.
Diane said her house holds numerous trophies Joe earned while with the program. Joe enlisted in the military when he turned 18.
Redina said her brother was a social butterfly who was very popular with the girls.
“He’s tall and good-looking,” Redina said.
Steve Schilb, Smith-Cotton High School teacher, remembers having Joe in class and his success with the JROTC program.
“He
was a good kid and students looked up to him,” Schilb said. “He was a
leader on the (JROTC) Raider team. I can’t say enough good about him.”
Once
Joe arrives in Washington D.C., the family plans to fly to meet him
there. Diane said she will stay through the summer until her job
resumes in August.
A
Joe Yantz Support Fund has been established at U.S. Bank and the
Smith-Cotton High School JROTC plans to place donation jars at businesses throughout Sedalia.
“There will definitely be a jar at Taco Bell,” Diane said. “That is his favorite.”
