Just before 6 a.m. Monday, Lebanon, Va., resident Jeannetta Santolla got a call from her husband who said he’d just been injured while fighting in Iraq.
Her first thought upon hearing the news was “how bad?”
Her second thought, she said, was “whew.
”
Sgt. Joe Santolla was on his way to work at an Iraqi police station outside Basra when the Humvee he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device. The blast lifted the vehicle off the ground and pushed it four feet to the left, Jeannetta Santolla said in a Tuesday phone interview.
Joe Santolla suffered a concussion and flash burns to his right eye, she said. He is recovering from his injuries in Basra but might have to go to a military base in Baghdad or Germany if his injuries need further medical attention, she said.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Jeannetta Santolla said, adding that the Humvee’s gunner also was hurt in the explosion. “It’s a good thing the Iraqis have lousy aim.”
Joe Santolla works as a special agent with the Virginia State Police’s Castlewood Office, VSP Sgt. Michael Conroy said. Santolla works as a polygraph operator with the office’s general investigations division, Conroy said.
Joe Santolla is a member of the 229th Military Police Company from Staunton, Va., but joined the 266th Military Police Company from Roanoke, Va., for his current tour of duty. He left for Iraq with the 266th MPs in December.
On Tuesday, Jeannetta Santolla said she and her husband talked about what might happen if he was injured while he was in Iraq.
“It’s scary, but [serving in Iraq] is something he felt he had to do,” she said.
Jeannetta Santolla said her husband told her to stay strong no matter what happened while he was overseas. Somebody had to mow the lawn and somebody had to take care of their 12-year-old daughter, she said, remembering the conversation.
But in the end, Jessica Santolla said she already was used to the possibility of her husband not making it home from work because she is still a cop’s wife.
“You just make sure you tell them you love them and kiss them goodbye,” Jeannetta Santolla said.
gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518
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