Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn, seen here with his wife, Lorna, and son, Tucker, was critically wounded in a Christmas drone attack in Iraq and is now receiving treatment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, according to hospital officials. (GoFundMe)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A U.S. soldier who was critically wounded in a drone attack in Iraq on Christmas was able to breathe on his own Tuesday while being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, friends and family members said.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn, one of three troops injured in a drone attack targeting U.S. troops at Irbil Air Base in northern Iraq, is in stable condition and receiving treatment, the hospital said in a statement Wednesday.
Illerbrunn was in a coma as of Tuesday, said Melissa Young, who is organizing a fundraiser for the soldier and his family, who are based at Fort Liberty, N.C.
“During the drone attack, a piece of shrapnel struck Garrett in the head, lodging from about his temple to almost the back end of his ear,” Young wrote Tuesday in a GoFundMe post.
After movements in his face and arm, Illerbrunn was taken off sedation and breathing yesterday, Young said. Illerbrunn’s wife, Lorna, is with him at Landstuhl, Young said.
Illerbrunn is a native of Langdon, N.D., according to North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who said he “shared gratitude” for the Army pilot’s service with Illerbrunn’s father, Brad, in a Dec. 27 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Dec. 25 drone attack has been claimed by the Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah. It’s among 115 rocket and drone strikes launched at U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war started in October, according to U.S. Central Command figures.
The U.S. launched retaliatory airstrikes some 13 hours later against three sites, and the strikes “destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants,” a statement by Central Command said.
Illerbrunn, who wasn’t named at the time, was described by Central Command as being in critical condition following the attack.
He arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the military’s largest hospital overseas, on Dec. 26.
On Friday, a U.S. defense official confirmed that the soldier had left the Middle East but referred additional questions to the hospital.
Plans are underway to send Illerbrunn to the U.S. for further treatment, the statement from the hospital said.
Illerbrunn will be transported to Walter Reed National Medical Center in Maryland for continued recovery, according to the GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $60,000.
