Iraqi Boy Thanks U.S. Doctors Who Saved Him

He is, said one observer, the "poster child" for the innocent victims of the Iraq war.

And like so many others, Waad Burkan, 9, still wears the scars from that war.

Waad and two friends were walking home from school near Baghdad in May, 2008. Along the way, they found a bottle and began kicking it. First, one kid; then another. Finally, Waad drew his foot back and swatted the bottle. That's when it exploded.

It was a device designed to kill U.S. troops. Instead, it destroyed the right side of the boy's face and ultimately cost him an eye, a leg and an arm.

"After the accident, I felt his life was destroyed," said Waad's mother, Wafaa Ali, through a translator.

Two ;years later however, Ali cried tears of joy for her son. He was smiling and running again, thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers and doctors.

"It never gets old," said Elissa Montanti of the Global Medical Relief Fund, a non-profit group that helps children in need from Iraq and around the globe.