Oklahoma soldier hurt when truck rolls over explosive

Friday, May 21st 2004, 11:26 am

By: News On 6

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) _ An Oklahoma soldier who is deployed in Iraq suffered second-degree burns after the vehicle in which he was riding rolled over a bomb and exploded, the man's mother said.

Pfc. David Willis couldn't hold the telephone but was able to talk to his mother a few hours after the incident, said Tammy Willis, his mother.

``But he's doing all right,'' she said.

David Willis, 20, is part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Division.

He was riding in a gas truck that was part of a convoy that was delivering fuel and ammunition on Saturday when it approached the explosive device. The explosive was remotely detonated, Tammy Willis said.

``He got the worst of the burns; the driver was not hurt that bad,'' she said.

She said he joked with the doctors and nurses and is in good spirits.

``I told him he's a hero in everybody's eyes, to go through all of this at only 20 and survive it,'' Tammy Willis said.

If David Willis is moved to a burn unit in the United States, the family plans to go visit him, she said.

The Army will only pay for his family to visit him if he's in serious or worse conditions, Tammy Willis said.

``Other than that, it's on my part to pay for it,'' she said.

A fund has been set up at BancFirst to help Tammy Willis purchase a roundtrip airline ticket so she can be with her son as he undergoes surgery to remove dead skin.