By Andrew Paisley
Lamp Staff
TAYLORVILLE — Army PFC Maggie Bilyeu was finally welcomed home Feb. 10 in an elaborate parade given by Christian County residents
The Owaneco resident was injured while fighting in Afghanistan on Nov, 12, 2016.
Bilyeu, a 2008 graduate of Taylorville Senior High School, was injured at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb that he had been carrying.
The explosion killed four people instantly, injured 16 U.S. soldiers, including Bilyeu, and a Polish soldier. Another U.S. soldier died after being transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Bilyeu, who suffered a broken leg, three broken ribs, a shattered femur, injuries to the chest, along with several internal injuries, was also transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center.
Bilyeu enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2015, where she was sent to Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas. She was then deployed to Afghanistan in September 2016.
“I was very hesitant at first to speak to the Afghan people, but after working with them every day on base, they sort of befriended me. And of course, I played right into their plan because they were the ones who detonated the bomb,” Bilyeu said.
The Taliban eventually claimed responsibility for the attack.
“This is what these people do,” Bilyeu said. “They befriend soldiers from other countries while working with them on base. They make you think that they are trustworthy and not bad people. And then you fall right into their trap when they do something like detonate a bomb.”
Bilyeu stated of the Afghan soldiers: “It was such a surprise and it happened so very quickly. I wish that I could go back and try to respond to the bomb at a quicker pace.”
After recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center for three months, Bilyeu was granted a two-week leave. Her plane arrived Feb. 10 in Springfield, where local citizens met and escorted her to Taylorville, where people lined the streets and waved flags as she made her way through town.
The lineup started at Jayne’s Park in Taylorville, where the cars drove down West Main Cross Street, and then around the square, stopping at U.S. Bank on the square.
“If I could go back in time, I’d be much more alert. For me, it was so weird, because I am usually the first in line to go do combatives and this time I wasn’t. It all happened too quickly.” Bilyeu said of her experience.
Maggie Bilyeu is the daughter of Burt and Kim Bilyeu of Owaneco. She reported back to Fort Hood Army Base on Feb. 26.
Andrew Paisley can be reached at [email protected].
