This is the front panel, the white area where the label sits, torn and tattered, that's about where a person’s heart would be. If you look closely at the picture you'll see that there are numerous impact marks (some small and some not so small) all over the face of this vest. If I had not been wearing this vest on the day I took these shrapnel rounds I am pretty sure I wouldn't be here typing this.

Things I remember about the day in question; It was pretty hot, sort of a middle of August New Jersey type of hot- Humid, no wind, and plainly there was no escaping the heat. I didn't like wearing this vest and I thought it was a waste of money. It was sort of bulky, constricting, and not flexible -- every time I would sit down in a vehicle the vest would shift up and hit me in the chin. I remember thinking the first time I tried it on that I felt like that Robby The Robot, my arms could move but my torso was a very much restricted.

So here we have it, I had a vest it was uncomfortable, hot, bulky and restricting, so why was I wearing it? Because some anonymous group or person thought enough about me to buy it and I owed them as much to use what they gave me. In my own mind nothing bad was going to happen to me, I was young and fairly stupid about things and still thought myself invincible so it seemed like a waste but whatever.

What happened
Essentially I was working on a project at a detainee and interrogation facility, we had just pulled up to a parking lot near the outer gate and got out when an IED went off in a tree about 15 meters away. I remember getting hit, feeling sick, my ears ringing and not really being able to hear at all. Really I’m not exactly sure what happened next and I was told a couple different things…so I can’t be sure which was right or wrong but I do know well after the fact that I had a concussion, my eardrums were messed (and are to this day), I had pellets taken out of shin, feet, middle thigh, and my vest was shredded, none hit my face and a couple hit my arm. A friend was able to retrieve what was left of my vest from the surgery room, and I kept the front panel.
It would seem the IED was some sort of bomb built with a couple shotgun shells formed together with a piece of PVC pipe.

Conclusion
So what’s the point you ask? Simple: Wear a vest if you are in a position where it might save your life. Yes it might be uncomfortable, hot, constricting, dumb looking and annoying…but being alive sure beats being dead.