iPhone 5s Saves Soldier’s Life From Suicide Bomb, Apple Replaces Phone [Video]

An iPhone 5s can be called a “life saving” device for lots of reasons, from the reminders about appointments to giving you something to do in the waiting room. But one soldier has a new appreciation for the iPhone 5s as a true life saver. Staff Sergeant Shaun Frank of Utah was serving his second tour in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber came running at him.

Frank had his iPhone 5s in his front pants pocket when his unit received a call to provide assistance to another unit. Their vehicle had flipped over in Afghanistan and they needed help to get it back on track. Upon arriving on the scene, there was an immediate sense of danger for Frank and his unit. In the midst of working to overturn the vehicle, a teenage suicide bomber charged at Frank and his unit. Fortunately, the iPhone 5s would save his life.

The suicide bomber’s explosive device carried metal ball bearings designed to scatter upon explosion. Frank was pelted by the ball bearings, but his iPhone 5s protected his femoral artery from several of them. Doctors believe that the iPhone may have saved his life.

“They did tell him when he got back to base that that iPhone probably saved his life,” Frank’s sister, Alisha Lantz, told KSL of Utah.

Fortunately Franks body armor protected him from much of the damage, though he did receive holes in his hands and legs. The femoral artery is one of the most dangerous areas to receive a wound because it can cause massive bleeding. Saying the iPhone 5s saved his life is certainly no stretch.

Unfortunately, Frank’s iPhone 5s was destroyed in the blast and could no longer function as a means of communication back home. He originally sent the iPhone to Apple to see if his insurance would cover the damaged device. Apple gave him the choice at the time to either keep his old phone or get a replacement, but not both. Frank really wanted to keep the life saving iPhone 5s as a reminder of the day he almost died.

“Because the old phone meant so much to him, we chose to get the old phone,” Lantz said.

But once the solider’s story began to get out, support came streaming in. Everything from pleas to Apple to people offering to buy him a new phone. However, after several months Apple has agreed to fully replace Shaun Frank’s iPhone 5s and let him keep the old one.

“It’s the same phone he had previously minus a hole or two,” his sister joked.

What a great gesture by Apple to replace the iPhone 5s of Staff Sergeant Shaun Frank who is still serving in Afghanistan.

[Images via KSL]