UPDATE: April 9th: Some new information about Kevin Garrard, the soldier whose life was allegedly saved by an iPod that took a bullet. Nik Wilets, the blogger who first posted the story, got in contact with soldier Garrad. After getting an overwhelming response from the blog and photos he posted, Nik asked Kevin for clarification on exactly what happened.
Kevin said that the photos are true and the iPod did take a bullet, but it didn't save his life. He was wearing upgraded body armor that easily stopped the AK-47 bullet. Kevin didn't realize he was shot and that his iPod was broken until he returned back to base. He put on his headphones to listen to music while cleaning his weapon. When the music failed to play, he pulled out his iPod to figure out why. That is when he realized the iPod took a bullet, and he had been shot.
Bulletproof iPod Saves Soldier
While the validity of this statement can be debated by many hard core iPod fans, in this one specific case it's true: The iPod really does saves lives, or at the very least, one life.
Kevin Garrard, a soldier in the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, was shot in the chest by an insurgent with an AK-47 at very close range. A bullet of this caliber at close range would normally pierce through body armor, but this was Kevin's lucky day. He had his 20-gig iPod in his jacket pocket.
The bullet struck the iPod and slowed down the projectile enough that his body armor stopped the hot lead from piercing his chest. Check it out:
More images and details on Flickr.
You guys are so lame. This has already been widely reported days ago AND DEBUNKED by various sources. You really ought to learn how to type this neat word called g-o-o-g-l-e. You'd be amazed at what you can find.
Check this out for size: http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/cat_blogs.php
Hey Dave, I think "debunked" may be a little strong. The confederateyankee's response from the military's public affairs officer suggests that it may not be true, but was seeking more info. Perhaps this will not turn out to be like the cigarette case that saved James "Scotty" Doohan's life on D-Day. But let's see...
http://havanalion.com/2007/04/08/ipod-tells-soldier-he-was-shot-the-real-story
There it is in the soldier's own words guys.
Thanks for the url. Nice backup. Maybe PC World would hire you to fact check or write. Then again ... all the rumors (and corporate press releases) fit to copy ... might be a better description.
kudo's to PC World for including the update. Now, if we could only get the NYT's Op-Ed boys and girls to the same ...
Good work!