Hap, thanks for the info; I did have that little rod issue fear in the back of my mind, but one can hope.
The finger story? Okay, you asked for it:
We were in Grafenwöhr, Germany. In April. That time of year, the weather can change quickly, and that is exactly what happened. We went from a nice Spring day, to sudden cold and flurries.
With the extreme change in temperature, we always took an oil sample on the vehicles. Just in case. These vehicles were M113A1 based, for those with inquiring minds. Tracked armored personnel carriers. (M901A1s, if you really want to know)
So:
I'm inside the vehicle, with my driver sitting in his seat. I had the engine access panel off, and was taking the oil sample. My driver asked if he could turn on the heater. He was cold. So was I, so I said "go for it". The engine starts. My glove is grabbed and yanked off my hand. (Probably the fan belt) Lots of blood. Sh!t.
I did not know what had happened exactly, as I chose not to look at it. Figured it was a bad cut or something. Covering it up with a rag was enough for me.
However, as I was put on the Medivac helo, a crewman hands me a styrofoam fast food type box and tells me to 'hang on to this'. The box was taped shut, and it was very cold, so I kind of got an idea there was something in it on ice. Maybe something important.
Anyway, to wrap things up, no pun intended, finger in the box, too mangled to reattach, so now I only count to four on that hand. Well, four and a half; there is a little left.
So:
WHY? Why did this happen? First, you must understand that the heater is a completely separate device from the vehicle engine. You want heat? Turn on the heater. Simple. Hence my rather cavalier "go for it" answer even though I'm doing a puppet show in the engine compartment at the time.
I later asked my driver that very "WHY" question. His answer was simple. "I was just doing what you told me"
And he was. There is a battery gauge on the driver instrument panel. Green zone, yellow zone, red zone. Simple. I had always stressed to my driver, "never, ever, allow that gauge to read too far into the yellow. If it does, start the track and charge the batteries".
My driver saw that the gauge was reading red, so he kicked over the track's engine to charge up, then kicked on the heater. Only thing was, of course, the gauge was only reading red because the 'main' switch was off and the track wasn't running. I guess I forgot to explain that part to him.
And so I ask you: How can one be mad at a Troop over that? He was trying to do his job, and trying to do it right. He was a good kid, and so, no, I wasn't mad. Not at him, anyway.
And there you go; end of the finger story. Again, No pun intended.
EDIT: Kurt, even worse, I was Infantry. You are correct; this accident later ended my career. Still pi$$es me off.