Category: Real Soldiers

Derek Madrigal was at SanSouth Padre Island celebrating his 21st birthday when he saw a women being abused by a man because she didn’t want to dance with him. Derek stepped in to rescue the woman and then found himself the target of the man’s rage Madrigal suffered stab wounds and a brutal beating. Until Army Iraq War veteran Fabian Ortega stepped in to rescue the badly injured Madrigal, according to NBC Dallas/Fort Worth who interviewed Ortega;

According to CBS/DFW, Madrigal is recovering from his nine stab woulds and the beating with coolers;

Friends and family say Madrigal or “DJ” as he likes to be called is making progress. DJ ate his first meal since the attack and doctors plan to move him out of ICU by Friday.

Of course, what plays in the news is SSG Bales, not the superheroes who are saving the world everywhere you turn.

Thanks to 509th Bob for the link.

Zack Thome, an Iraq War Army veteran and Mixed Martial Arts fighter, who is also a college student in Grand Rapids, happened to be in a convenience store when some derelict tried to rob the store. Being what he is, Zack choked the thief out, who claimed that he was armed, but apparently wasn’t and held him until police arrived;

“It’s kind of my hometown. I live right next to the place, you know, I’m in there everyday. I think if it was the other way around, if I worked there and the guy at the register was there, he would have done the same thing,” said Thome, who’s also an Army veteran who did a tour of duty in Iraq.

Police haven’t released the suspect’s name. He’s being held in jail pending his arraignment.

There’s video of the action at Fox17.

Thanks to Wayne for the link.

Stars & Stripes reports (from an Army Times article) on SGT Michael Moynihan who, as a Corporal coordinated a defense of his Observation Post and successfully repelled an enemy attack which threatened the flank of his unit’s postions.

Using rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and assault rifles, enemy fighters launched several attacks on his team’s position between Oct. 11-13, 2011, but were thwarted each time, the Army Times said.

Twice Moynihan was said to have been knocked unconscious, but continued to fight after coming to. At least eight attackers were killed, according to the Army Times report. There was no mention of any serious injuries or deaths on his side of the fight.

From the Army Times;

For three days, the enemy relentlessly attacked Observation Post Shal in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.

And for three days, Cpl. Michael A. Moynihan led his fellow soldiers in a fierce defense of their OP, directing attacks and providing covering fire even though it exposed him to the intense enemy barrage. A mortar hit his position and knocked him unconscious; after he came to, Moynihan continued to lead the fight.

You should really read the whole Army Times article to get a sense of what this young hero did, as a corporal.

This is the kind of valor that is being stolen every time one of those dickweeds claim an unearned Silver Star. Bravo Zulu, young buck.

All of you sent us this link to an Associated Press article about Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell, who escaped a fire in their house by jumping from a second story window. When Cantrell reentered the house to rescue their children 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia, none of them made it out.

Cantrell, 36, was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of chief warrant officer 2, which authorized Cantrell to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up, said Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command.

Records show Cantrell joined the Army in 1994, listing a home address in Plant City, Fla. He had one combat deployment to Iraq and five to Afghanistan, returning from the last mission in August, Olsen said.

His record included four Bronze Stars and one Purple Heart, awarded for wounds suffered in a war zone, Olsen said.

His wife and his dog survived the fire.

SSG Eddie Peoples was home on leave in Florida, according to Stars & Stripes, after five tours of Iraq and Kuwait and found himself and his children at the business end of a bank robber’s handgun at the Bank of America. We discussed SSG Peoples’ heroism last June.

I bring it up again because he was awarded a Soldier’s Medal for his actions that day. And I just had to publish this quote from Peoples;

Peoples said that even though he was off duty and not wearing his uniform, he felt an obligation.

“It’s never someone else’s problem when you’re in the U.S. Army,” he said. “We are the sworn defenders of the United States people and I take my oath very seriously.”

What’s that quote about “rough men”? Thanks for bringing honor to the profession, SSG Peoples.

She’s a few years younger than me, and I don’t think I could do it again, but this Marine Mom, Sgt. Sandra Coast, decided she wanted to join the Army while her son was at the Marine Recruiter.

For as long as she can remember she has had a special place in her heart for troops and a hunger to serve.

“I have a friend in the Navy that was emailing me from Afghanistan. It’s his third combat tour in seven years. I don’t know, I can’t explain it, I just had this overwhelming desire to give back to the military somehow. I was doing the same job day after day after day; I can’t live my life that way,” Coast said. “There is more to life than this, so I ended up in basic training.”

Now, 1st Sgt. John Byars has a new perception of his elders.

“I was impressed because she can do everything the younger Soldiers do,” Byars said. “She never expected us to feel sorry for her. She even got one of the highest Army Physical Fitness Test scores in the company. She is a prime example that age is just a number. She ran faster than Soldiers young enough to be her kids.”

I guess you have to follow your heart. Congratulations, Sergeant.