MADILL, Okla. -- Madill native and Army Captain Beau Hendricks said he's glad to be back home, even if it is just for a little while, and despite all the negativity surrounding the war in Iraq, he believes our soldiers are making a difference.

"This is the bag of stuff I had on me when I was hit," he said as he was looking through his things.

Hendricks said it seems like it was only a few days ago, when he had a near-death experience in Iraq during a supply mission June 9.

"When the rocket impacted, it felt like you got hit by 12 sledgehammers at once," he said. "Immediately, I could see the disfigurement on my right leg and my right arm as well as my face felt numb."

Hendricks is home on medical leave. He still has some lingering effects from his severe shrapnel wounds, but his recovery is going well. His wife Elizabeth said it was just as painful for her, as she had to wait a while before she heard from Beau.

"It was almost grueling because I knew I had to wait probably another week before I'd be able to see him or know full extent of his injuries," she said.

Despite what Beau has gone through, he said he has first hand experience that progress is being made in Iraq.

"When you're on the ground everyday you see good," he said. "You're doing the schools; you're building the stability and peace your bringing to certain regions."