ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A soldier who survived a roadside bombing in Iraq was rewarded for his service during a ceremony in Escondido Tuesday.

Sgt. Carlos Hafenmartinez is the latest recipient of the Hidden Valley Kiwanis Club's Operation Hero Award, and no matter the outcome in Iraq, those at the ceremony said recognizing U.S. troops should remain a top priority.

Hafenmartinez was on his first tour of duty in Iraq with the Army in December 2007. Only a couple months later, a roadside bomb hit his vehicle, killing four of the nine other soldiers with him. He suffered multiple fractures and a punctured lung -- injuries too extensive to explain to his two young children.

"When I first got injured, I couldn't use a walker. I had pins in my left hand, so I couldn't hold myself up and just trying to stand up and walk with two casts on my leg was kind of hard," Hafenmartinez said.

The now 21-year-old soldier did not say much about the President Obama's plan to end the combat mission in Iraq.

"[I] just pretty much do what I'm told, go where I need to go," said Hafenmartinez.

Lyle Davis, the founder of Operation Hero, finds it difficult to define a timetable on such a complicated war.

"I think the minute you put a time limit on a combat situation, you're giving a major advantage to your enemy because he knows he can weigh you out," said Davis, who is an Army veteran.

The president's deadline to stop combat operations is August 31, and he plans a complete withdrawal by the end of next year.

Though controversy still exists over Obama's plan, those involved with Operation Hero said U.S. troops should never be forgotten.

"They're in the hospital. No one hears a lot about them and they're the ones that pay a price. Not the ultimate price, but they pay a pretty heavy duty price," Davis said.