13 WTHR IndianapolisIndiana Guardsman injured in deadly blast recovering

Indiana Guardsman injured in deadly blast recovering

Posted: Updated:
HAMMOND -

The only survivor of a roadside bombing in Afghanistan that killed four members of an Indiana National Guard unit has undergone a five-hour surgical procedure to implant titanium plates in his face.

Relatives of Pvt. Doug Rachowicz say the 30-year-old Hammond soldier underwent facial surgery Friday at a military hospital in Maryland during which surgeons implanted six titanium plates.

His mother, Kathy Rachowicz, tells The Times of Munster her son has had multiple surgeries since the January 6 roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan. She says Friday's facial surgery was expected to be the final procedure and she hopes he'll now start to heal.

She says her son hasn't been told the four fellow soldiers riding in the truck he was driving were killed in the blast.

(Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)