Gentlemen,
I just had a very eerie chill come over my entire body and quickly ascertained that I most definitely had to bring the following account to your attention. It is a quick reference to the amazing heroics and abilities of Special Forces soldiers.
To provide situational understanding pertaining to the following short piece, I should explain how I found the quote and what my relationship to the story was. I found this account while researching the internet in a hunt for viable sources to use as follow-up material to the retelling of my own recollections of April 7th, 2003 (which I posted on my own site). As for my relations to the account told below, I was on the ground on April 7th, 2003 and only approximately 50-100 meters from where the destruction occurred.
The subject of this destruction was an Iraqi missile that impacted on the Second Brigade, Third Infantry Division’s T.O.C. during the early drive into Baghdad. The scene was absolutely chaos. However, the Army’s own Lessons Learned recounts of a Special Forces medic who maintained control of the situation despite the worst of conditions for himself and the area around him.
This is from:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...point/ch-6.htm
Story from above site follows:
Field-expedient Surgery
When Sergeant Scott returned from the forward surgical team, I asked "Is Corporal Brown [Colonel Perkins' driver injured in the strike on the 2nd BCT TOC] going to make it?"
He responded, "Sir, I don't know but they are still working on him. When we got there, nobody could give him an IV because of his burns. I tried, the medics tried, and even the doctors could not find a vein. Then this [S]pecial [F]orces medic laying on a stretcher with an AK-47 round though his leg and waiting for a MEDEVAC, started screaming at us to bring Brown over to him. We carried Brown to the wounded medic, who pulled out a knife, cut down into Brown's leg, pulled out a vein, stuck the catheter into his vein, and then tied it off."
As soon as he was done with the vein, the field surgeons carried Brown into the operating room and the [S]pecial [F]orces medic was MEDEVACed to the rear. Corporal Brown was eventually evacuated to the USS Mercy hospital ship, where he died 36 hours later.
Captain William Glaser,
commander, HHC, 2nd Brigade, 3rd ID
END QUOTE.
How amazing is that? This was a very traumatic day of my life. If you are interested in my own recollections from that violent day, feel free to dispatch a P.M. if my direction and I will forward my site’s location. I would rather not devalue the stories of this Special Forces soldier’s heroics with petty self-promotion.
I thought this was a story that would truly inspire. I have always had fascination with the Warriors of the Special Forces. While much of this stemmed from their ability to grow thick beards, wear cool caps, and drive Toyota pick-ups when we were left in Humvees, the truth is that the real source of inspiration is because of capabilities like the ones described above.
Thanks for your time.
Linear Mode
