DECEMBER 26, 2004 - He joined the U.S. army with hopes of serving others. Brownsville native Private First Class Eric Herrera has fulfilled that mission while in Iraq.

Now he's speaking out about the war as no other Valley serviceman has.

Herrera says he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. After all, he survived the grenade attack.

"I heard the first one go off and then I saw the second one come in ... like actually hit the ground and explode."

That explosion on the streets Fallujah Thanksgiving weekend landed Eric home for the holidays - with a broken foot.

"Having him here that was the best. Just having my son home that was great," says his tearful mother Lupita Herrera.

While Eric may be back in the comforts of home, his mind is still with his unit in Iraq.

"I can't sleep. I still got dreams of Iraq."

Eric says he believes the situation overseas is a hopeless one.

"I say just put Saddam back in power, and just leave the whole Iraq, the country, it'd be better off like that."

That despair is a sentiment he tells us many soldiers share.

"There's a lot of people that don't think we should be there ... like my unit," Herrera says. "We're not doing good out there. We're just soldiers dying left and right."

And even as neighbors turn up to leave food and the military adds to his awards, a purple heart in particular, Eric says signs of appreciation have become something unfamiliar to him.

"It's like when you help an Iraqi out. We walk off and they'll go around the block and start shooting at us. The same ones you were just talking to."

Hopeless or not, Eric says Iraq is exactly where he wants to be.

"I'd rather go serve my country than be here in the states causing trouble."

But with months with recovery ahead of him, Herrera will have to wait to return to Iraq.

He is now on medical leave. He will be returning to San Antonio for more treatment in several weeks and, will remain enlisted through the coming year.