WASHINGTON -- Army Spc. Andrew Neumeyer, 26, was tired but in good spirits Friday when Congressman Tom Petri visited him at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Neumeyer, a Neenah resident, is a member of the Appleton-based 127th Battalion, 2nd Infantry of the Wisconsin National Guard. He was wounded Jan. 31 while manning a spotlight on the lead HUMV in a 30 vehicle convoy near Baghdad.

Neumeyer explained to Petri that he had been testing new body armor but that while the armor worked well, it could not protect his face from one or more improvised explosive devices which insurgents set off while the convoy was passing. As a result, his right eye had to be removed and he lost considerable vision in his left eye.

He was promptly airlifted to the U.S. medical hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, to be treated until he was stable enough to continue on to the U.S. He was accompanied from Iraq and Germany by his brother Eric, 22, who was serving in the same unit in.

Pictured above are Rep. Tom Petri, Army Spc. Andrew Neumeyer,
and Neumeyer's fiance, Erin Slattery.

Andrew Neumeyer said that he expects to be transferred to Minneapolis in two weeks for therapy, and then to the Chicago area for work on his left eye.

"He was just telling me that he was eager to improve his eyesight so that he will be able to see his bride at his wedding in December when his fiance came into the room with his father, Gary, and his brother Eric," Petri said.

The fiance, Erin Slattery, from Hartland, WI, sat next to Neumeyer and caressed his hand while explaining that they had met in Oshkosh. "It was love at first sight," she said.

Neumeyer said that with shrapnel lodged behind his left eye, there had been potential for personality changes but, "I don't seem to be any different than I was before."

Slattery affirmed that "he's the same old guy."

Neumeyer said that he had received a lot of letters. "It's great to see that everybody's praying for me. And, I just want them to keep praying for me, and I'll be home soon," he said.

Andrew's brother Eric said that the family continued to support the effort in Iraq. "The Iraqi people all seem happy we're there, except for a small minority," he said.