Old 05-05-2006, 14:30   #1
BMT (RIP)
Quiet Professional
 
BMT (RIP)'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Red State
Posts: 3,774
Great Story

http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=8965

BMT

Quote:
RELEASE NUMBER: 060509-02
DATE POSTED: MAY 9, 2006

Hillah SWAT, Special Forces aid young Iraqi boy

From CJSOTF-AP Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq (USASOC News Service, May 9, 2006) – Members of Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics team and a U.S. Special Forces Medic saved the life of a four-year-old Sunni boy during an operation south of Baghdad on April 29.

The Hillah SWAT was operating in the Yusafiyah area south of Baghdad as part of a larger operation meant to capture suspect terrorists in the city of Hillah. During a sweep through one of the houses, U.S. Army Special Forces advisers accompanying Hillah SWAT team members noticed a boy who was lethargic and looked ill.

Upon seeing the young boy, the senior U.S. adviser immediately sought out the Special Forces medic who was part of his advisory team during the operation. After introducing himself to the family, the medic examined the boy.

“[The parents told me] the boy had been reaching for a pot of boiling water that was on top of a mud and brick stove when it spilled over onto him,” the medic explained. “The water hit is face and chest, but it did the most damage to his left leg.”

After the accident, the boy’s parents took him to a clinic near their house where a worker at the clinic treated the injured boy and sent him home. The clinic worker instructed the parents to change the boy’s bandages every three days and said the boy should heal just fine, according to the medic.

“The bandages were stuck to his leg, and we had to use some of the little water we had left to soften the bandages so they could be removed,” said the medic. “The boy screamed in pain, but let out no tears. It was difficult for me because the normal tools I carry in my aid bag weren’t meant for the type of treatment he needed, so I did the best I could with what I had.”

With the bandages removed, it became apparent the boy was very ill.

According to the medic, the lymph nodes in his groin, armpits and throat were all severely swollen, he showed signs of pneumonia, and his leg was severely infected.

“The boy was septic, and that is extremely dangerous for a child that age,” the medic said. “I explained that the boy needed to be taken to the hospital immediately, but that is was unsafe for them to leave and this made the mother and father really upset.”

Hillah SWAT members were on the scene to help keep the mother and father calm. One of them even offered the names of several doctors in Hillah who would be willing to help, as he had a son about the same age, the medic said.

“In the end, I wrote a note for the mother to show to soldiers at the check points she would encounter getting out of the neighborhood and a couple of SWAT members helped to escort them out, so they could take the boy to the hospital,” said the medic.

In the note, the medic also wrote down three different medications that he thought would help the boy.

Recently, the medic had an interpreter call the family to find out how the boy was doing. The father answered the phone and, according to the interpreter, was excited and happy that the American “doctor” cared enough to call and check on his son.

The boy’s father said an Iraqi doctor at the Hillah hospital gave the boy the medications the medic suggested, and now the boy is doing much better and is much happier.


-usasoc-
__________________
Don't mess with old farts...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Bullshit and brilliance only come with age and experience.
BMT (RIP) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2006, 14:37   #2
Gypsy
Area Commander
 
Gypsy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Midwest
Posts: 7,107
Very cool, thanks BMT. I especially liked the last two paragraphs.
__________________
My Heroes wear camouflage.
Gypsy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2006, 16:56   #3
stone
Guerrilla
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD.
Posts: 126
Good stuff!
stone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2006, 19:11   #4
airborneFSO
Asset
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: USARCENT
Posts: 45
As with most good deeds done, that will not be on your five o'clock news.
__________________
Freedom is still expensive. It still costs money. It still costs blood. It still calls for courage and endurance, not only in Soldiers, but in every man and woman who is free and who is determined to remain free.
~Harry S. Truman
airborneFSO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2006, 19:06   #5
Warrior-Mentor
Quiet Professional
 
Warrior-Mentor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: America, the Beautiful
Posts: 3,193
18D's are the best rapport builders we have. Tell me that one man's actions won't have a long term impact on what those parents think of the Americans?
Warrior-Mentor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-06-2006, 19:52   #6
airborneFSO
Asset
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: USARCENT
Posts: 45
W-M,

I agree with you 100%, however the people here in the U.S. need to hear that story as well. If the media shared this story with others, support for Soldiers would increase.
__________________
Freedom is still expensive. It still costs money. It still costs blood. It still calls for courage and endurance, not only in Soldiers, but in every man and woman who is free and who is determined to remain free.
~Harry S. Truman
airborneFSO is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:29.



Copyright 2004-2022 by Professional Soldiers ®
Site Designed, Maintained, & Hosted by Hilliker Technologies