Lance Cpl. Scott Kruchten keeps a worn photo in his wallet of what looks like a twisted heap of metal. Except for two wheels hanging cockeyed above the mess of parts, it is a barely recognizable image of its former shape: a humvee.
The 32-year old Madison man has carried the picture with him for more than three years.
It is a reminder of the explosion that killed four other Marines south of Baghdad in November 2004. Kruchten was the only one in the truck who survived, although with lasting injuries.
Kruchten considers himself lucky to be alive, though he still lives with the aftermath of his service in the Iraq War. He shows no outward signs of disability, but tests have shown him to be cognitively disabled in several areas. He is on medication to prevent seizures. He tried to return to a pre-military job at Sauk City Harley-Davidson but found it difficult to face the work that had once been so easy for him.
Instead, he enrolled at UW-Madison where he is majoring in Middle Eastern studies.