PORTAGE | Robert Barthel stayed close to the telephone Thursday morning awaiting word of his son's condition.

The news wasn't good.

His son, U.S. Army Sgt. Robert J. Barthel, was severely wounded Tuesday morning when the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle in which he was riding was struck by an improvised explosive device while he was on combat patrol near the joint security site in Nasser Wa Salam, Iraq.

On Thursday morning, the younger Barthel, a squad leader, was undergoing his second surgery in a military hospital in Germany, where doctors were amputating his right foot.

"There was so much damage to his heel bone they couldn't repair it," the elder Barthel said.

He said a nurse told him his son was alert and talking, but also is in a great amount of pain.

The elder Barthel, of Portage, said his son, 25, who lived Valparaiso as a child and attended Cooks Corners Elementary School, called him at 5 a.m. Wednesday and told his father what happened.

The younger Barthel was "riding along, joking and the next thing he knew, he was in the hospital," he said.

Four others in the unit were injured and a fifth was killed in the attack, he said.

The younger Barthel's evacuation from Iraq was initially delayed because of dust storms, but he was eventually transported to Germany and is expected to return to the United States sometime Sunday. He will be admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The news of the injury came just days after happy news from the soldier's family. He became the father of twin boys, Aiden and Tristen, on June 30. The younger Barthel, who is with A Company 121st Battalion based at Scofield Air Field in Hawaii, and his wife, Elena, are the parents of five.

The elder Barthel said his son has been in the Army for five years and was midway through his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was wounded. He said his son recently received the Bronze Star for combat activities in Sadr City and has been awarded the Purple Heart for this action.

"He is very courageous. He has always portrayed a lot of courage. Our entire family is so very proud of Bobby Joe," Barthel said about his son, who moved to Sturgis, Mich., during his youth after his parents' divorce.

In high school, the younger Barthel played soccer and was a violinist in the high school orchestra.