November 29, 2008
Daniel O'Neal slides sideways into his seat in classroom TL 104 at Palm Beach Community College: sunglasses hooked in the collar of his Tommy Hilfiger shirt, three-ring binder with the words "Keys to Success" on the spine, and a half-dollar-size spot on the back of his head where more scalp shows than hair.
That's where the roadside bomb got him.
It exploded 10 feet behind the 23-year-old Lake Worth High School graduate as he patrolled in Balad, Iraq, cutting through his helmet and pushing his skull into his brain - like squeezing a pingpong ball until it dents.
O'Neal, an Army specialist who served two tours in Iraq, landed in this drab college classroom one year ahead of a massive new GI Bill that will send another generation of combat veterans to school.
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