This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Real Soldiers

  • Corporal Paul Cusack saving the world

    Corporal Paul Cusack

    2/75th Ranger’s Corporal Paul Cusack is to be awarded the Soldier’s Medal for his actions at the Boston Marathon bombing last April according to MyNorthwest;

    Corporal Paul Cusack, with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment had just finished the 26.2 mile race. Instead of finding safety, he ran toward the trouble.

    “He was right there at the scene, immediately after the blast,” said Joseph Piek, JBLM spokesman. “He, himself, ran into the blast area, not knowing whether there were going to be secondary blasts.”

    Cpl. Cusack found several people lying in the street and on the sidewalk at the second explosion site.

    “And he immediately started helping some of the victims, he assessed and triaged their injuries and evacuated people from the immediate scene as quickly as he possibly could,” said Piek.

    Corporal Cusack will be awarded his Soldier’s Medal this evening.

    Cusack wasn’t the only soldier there that day to run towards the sounds of danger.

  • SSG Peter Woken awarded German Medal of Honor

    Parachutecutie sends us a link to the story of Peter Woken who was awarded the Medal of Honor for Gallantry in Action of the Federal Republic of Germany in the German ambassador’s residence for his part in rescuing German Corporal Tim Focken in Afghanistan on October 17, 2010. Woken was the last of eight Americans to be awarded the medal for their actions that day;

    Focken and his unit were on patrol when he was shot in the left shoulder area by a sniper and the unit was pinned down by heavy enemy fire. Though disabled, Focken still encouraged his fellow soldiers in the fight. He was awarded the Bronze Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr and the Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal-Combat for his service.

    Focken vividly remembers watching the US Blackhawk abort a first landing attempt and then reappear a second time. “Somehow I got another surge of energy,” he said. Focken was able to run to the helicopter and jump onboard despite his severe injury. He called it a great honor to see his rescuer again.

    The sight of the wounded Focken making his way to the copter and the knowledge that he was still motivating his troops, though injured, has stuck with Staff Sergeant Woken. “He ran and jumped and continued to stay conscious,” Woken said. “I believe he did that for his team.”

    There’s more about the night at the Ambassador’s Residence at the German Missions in the United States link.

  • NRA Life of Duty; Patriot Profiles; Highest Honor Part II

    The folks at NRA; Life of Duty send us the second part of their profile video trailer about Dakota Meyer;

    At only 21 years old, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer had experienced combat, but nothing like on the morning of September 8, 2009. Dakota remained behind with Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez while the day’s patrol traveled toward a place called Ganjgal, unaware that the Taliban and enemy insurgents awaited their arrival. They were outgunned, outnumbered, and needed help. Now.

    They promise us the complete video later this week.

  • Lone Survivor featurette

    The folks at Lone Survivor wanted you to see this couple of minutes of the movie and some of the people involved in making the movie. It includes Marcus Luttrell along with Daniel & Maureen Murphy (Lt. Michael Murphy’s parents), Corky & Donna Axelson (Matt Axelson’s parents) and Dan & Cindy Dietz (Danny Dietz Jr.’s parents).

    For some reason the embedded link isn’t working so you can see the video at this link.

  • Another aircrew honored

    Eggs sends us a link to another story of aircrew bravery from a few months ago which resulted in the Distinguished Flying Cross for Staff Sgt. Joshua Reid and Master Sgt. William Fritsch and the Air Medal with Valor for Staff Sgt. Jason St John and pilots 1st Lt. Patrick Mount and Capt. Ryan Prince;

    Upon landing, Reid, on Pedro 62, and Fritsch said they were not aware they were being engaged by small arms fire.

    Once the PJs hit the ground, they had to engage the enemy.

    Once Pedro 61 was back in the air, Fritsch spotted an insurgent readying a rocket-propelled grenade about 75 meters away. He engaged by shooting almost 200 rounds of .50 caliber fire.

    “It had missed us,” he said. “That was just luck.”

    Fritsch saw a second insurgent readying an RPG and immediately warned his crew. As the grenade exploded near his aircraft, he again returned fire.

    Reid did the same from Pedro 62.

    With 25 coalition soldiers on the ground, Pedro 61 and 62 placed themselves in a blocking position between the enemy and friendly forces, allowing two Army OH-58 attack helicopters to mark and destroy the enemy’s position.

    “Any [mission] could turn into something like this in any given moment,” Fritsch said.

    Reid and Fritsch said the mission was executed properly and safely due to their training.

  • Six NYANG troops awarded Bronze Star for valor

    The Republic reports that a rescue crew from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing’s 103rd Rescue Squadron are to be awarded Bronze Stars with a Valor device for their rescue of three Americans and an Afghan who had been injured by an explosive device. the rescue took place under intense fire;

    The Guard airmen are Capt. Ronnie Maloney, Senior Master Sgt. Erik Blom, Staff Sgts. James Dougherty, Christopher Petersen and Matthew Zimmer, and Technical Sgt. Anthony Yusup.

    Blom and Yusup serve part-time in the Air Guard. Blom is a Suffolk County police officer. Yusup is studying to become a nurse.

    The other four are full-time members of the 106th Rescue Wing.

    Yusup is from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, while the other five live in Suffolk County.

    From Read Media;

    The friendly unit was still under Taliban fire as the two helicopters approached the scene. Pedro 62, the trail helicopter, moved into the area to put the three-man team of Yusup, Dougherty, and Petersen on the ground first.

    As the helicopter moved in to off load the three Airmen it came under machinegun fire which continued as the men moved to linkup with the American and Afghan infantrymen who were sheltering behind a mud wall. Two rocket propelled grenades hit the ground five meters away from the Air Guardsmen as they began to conduct triage on the wounded Soldiers.

    Yusup, the leader of that three-man element, according to the official citation, elected to remain in the open while exposed to enemy fire so that he could control the casualty collection point and direct timely casualty treatment.

    Dougherty and Peterson ignored the enemy fire and began immediate treatment to save the lives of the injured men. When rocket propelled grenades hit nearby they covered the wounded with their own bodies.

    Meanwhile, the lead helicopter Pedro 61, landed to allow the other three Guardsmen: Maloney, the Combat Rescue Officer; Blom, the team noncommissioned officer in charge, and Zimmer.

    All three men ran across open ground, despite the enemy fire, to help in treating and moving the casualties.

    There’s more of the story at the link that you should read. We make fun of the Air Force and the National Guard, but, really, what would we do without men like these?

  • Karyna Douglass, new recruit

    Karyna Douglass

    Stuart sends us a link to the story of Karyna Douglass who wanted to join the Army, but she was overweight, according to the Army, so she started on a new mission – be Army Strong;

    “My physical activity consisted of me walking to the store to get candy,” Douglass said. So she decided to get serious.

    She started working out with a Beaverton Sergeant. Every day, she worked out two or three times and ate the right foods.

    After spending so much time with soldiers, the 23-year-old decided the army was for her.

    Douglass said, “I fell in love with their world. I fell in love with the bonds that I created with these people. I fell in love for what they stand for.”

    KPTV – FOX 12

    She’ll probably make a good soldier, too, because she had to earn her place among them. She lost 110 pounds over 15 months and the article says that she’ll be enlisting in a week or so. Good luck, Karyna.

  • Iraq vet murdered in Indiana

    Someone sent us an article about Sergeant First Class James Vester, a diesel mechanic in the Indiana National Guard and who had a tour of Iraq. Apparently, SFC Vester was murdered when he went to buy an iPad from an ad he saw on Craigslist;

    In addition to those duties he served on the ceremonial team honoring those who died in service.

    “Some people wanted to do it for the accolades, but Jim wanted to pay respect,” said Sgt. Major Tony Williams with the Indiana National Guard.

    Friends of the family, started a fundraising campaign for Vester’s wife and son. You can help the family by logging on here.

    The person who sent us the article says that SFC Vester left behind a son and a young wife. I’ve never used Craigslist and these articles make me want to avoid it like the plague.