Green Bay native injured in Baghdad grenade attack Miles Berkovitz is back in the United States to recover By Benjamin Dreyer News-Chronicle Results of the war in Iraq continue to hit home as U.S. Army Pfc. Miles Berkovitz, a Green Bay native, has been airlifted back to the United States after sustaining an eye injury during a grenade attack in Baghdad. According to Berkovitz's father, Toby, Berkovitz was riding in an armored troop carrier during a daily patrol through Baghdad when a grenade was thrown at the vehicle traveling directly behind him. Because the back door was open to Berkovitz's carrier, a small fragment of steel from the grenade caught him in his left eye. "There was a blast, and a small metallic object flew into my eye. A week had gone by and it had not healed, so they took me to Germany," Miles Berkovitz said from Fort Benning, Ga. After spending seven days in Landstuhl, Germany, doctors requested another medical opinion, so Berkovitz was transported back to the United States to undergo treatment at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He is recuperating at his home base in Fort Benning, where he is doing well and no longer wears an eye patch, his father said. "First I was blind in my eye, but now I am almost to recovery," Miles Berkovitz said. "I will never have the vision I had before, though. I now see one image, then to the lower left-hand corner an overlapped image. The doctor said it will heal in time, but that's exactly what it's going to take." The incident occurred more than a month ago, but Miles Berkovitz did not want to disclose the exact date. He said he hopes to heal in time to meet up with his unit, which is stationed in the Middle East. "I desire very much to go back," he said. "As a soldier, you develop a bond with someone, especially when you're in combat because that's all you have to keep you alive. If they're still out there and I'm not, I feel like I left them." Toby Berkovitz said his son might not be able to get his wish. "They're not sure whether it pays to send him back to Iraq because his group is overdue for coming back anyway," Toby Berkovitz said. "They told those guys they'd be there until June." Berkovitz's unit had been attacked several times during previous nights while they were sleeping, according to Toby Berkovitz. On the night before the grenade incident, 13 Iraqi soldiers attacked the unit, and nine of the 13 were killed.