5 Harrowing Stories Of Hand-To-Hand Combat By U.S. Soldeirs In Iraq And Afghanistan

U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Gerard R. Farao

James Clark, Task & Purpose: 5 Harrowing Stories Of Hand-To-Hand Combat In Iraq And Afghanistan

Is there less courage on the battlefield today than during previous wars? If you only looked at the number of awards for valor presented to service members, you might get that impression. There’s been a noticeable decrease in valor citations issued during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with previous conflicts. There are plenty of reasons for this, but a lack of bravery isn’t one of them.

One common explanation is that the conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan precludes the sort of close-quarters battle conditions that lead to extraordinary acts by combat troops. “[O]ur enemies generally use weapons at a distance from us,” then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said of the decrease in valor awards during a 2010 interview with CNN. “So, there’s less hand-to-hand or in-close combat than there has been in previous wars.”

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WNU Editor: Growing up .... I heard more than my fair share of stories from my father and his friends who served in the Soviet Army in World War II ... and that war is quite often very close and very personal.

What It's Like Dodging Six Missiles In An F-16

This Is What It's Like Dodging Six Missiles In An F-16 -- Paul Szoldra, Business Insider

It was the opening days of Operation Desert Storm on Jan. 19, 1991 when fighter jets were roaring through Iraqi airspace — and anti-aircraft crews were waiting for them with surface-to-air missiles (SAM).

According to Lucky-Devils, a military website that recounts much of the engagement, U.S. F-16s were trying to attack a rocket production facility north of Baghdad. The account continues:

As the flight approached the Baghdad IP, AAA [Anti-Aircraft Artillery] began firing at tremendous rates. Most of the AAA was at 10-12,000ft (3,658m), but there were some very heavy, large calibre explosions up to 27,000ft (8,230m). Low altitude AAA became so thick it appeared to be an undercast. At this time, the 388th TFW F-16’s were hitting the Nuclear Research Centre outside of the city, and the Weasels had fired off all their HARMs in support of initial parts of the strike and warnings to the 614th F-16’s going further into downtown went unheard.

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My Comment: Pure terror.

Some War Wounds Stay With You To The End

The bag contained a whopping 6oz of bomb shrapnel, roughly two handfuls, that Mr Brown had been carrying around for 60 years Photo: SWNS.com

Weighty Memento: War Veteran's Secret Revealed After His Death -- The Telegraph

The family of a war hero only discovered the full weight of his bravery after his death when his cremation left behind a huge pile of shrapnel.

Ronald Brown stepped on a land mine while on a mission in France in August 1944.

The blast peppered his left leg with red-hot fragments and he was forced to crawl two miles to safety.

But because of medical conditions of the day it was thought safer to leave shrapnel in his body.

He survived the war but only ever told his family the basic story and said the accident had left him with a 'bad knee'.

Mr Brown told loved ones he still had a 'bullet' in his leg and asked his grandchildren not to sit on his knee because of the pain it caused.

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My Comment: I had the same experience with my father and his war wound (he had some steel fragments on the side of his chest and one in front). It was shown to me by a doctor on an x-ray .... all my father would say was that he got it in the war.

War Hero Will Finally Get To See The Memorials Of Wars That He Fought

Photo by Shane Keyser

Veteran Of Three Wars Will Finally See Memorials -- Kansas City

His motorized wheelchair scoots between two posters decorating his room at the nursing home: a tiger representing the University of Missouri football team, and a black flag with a white silhouetted man and the acronym, POW/MIA.

Fitting bookends for the story of Bill Watson’s life.

He’s an 88-year-old great-grandfather who played college football at MU, served in three wars and spent more than two years as a prisoner of war in Korea.

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My Comment: A true American hero. If I had a choice of seeing the war memorials or spending some time with Bill Watson in a coffee shop listening to him talk about his life experiences .... no contest .... not even close .... and I will be more than happy to pay for the coffee and then some.

Live RPG Removed From Soldier (Video)

Pfc. Channing Moss was impaled by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan on March 16, 2006, while riding in a convoy with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team,10th Mountain Division. Explosive disposal team members and the medical staff at FOB Organ E saved Moss, removing the live explosive from his body despite the Army protocol of sandbagging victims with live explosives embedded and considering them "expectant." Here he was photographed near Walter Reed Medical Center last summer. JAMES J. LEE / STAFF

From Stormbringer:

This is the incredible story of Channing Moss.

During the course of a Taliban ambush while out on patrol, Channing was impaled by a live RPG.

Army protocol says that medevac choppers are never to carry anyone with a live round in him. Even though they feared it could explode, the flight crew said damn the protocol and flew him to the nearest aid station.

Again, protocol said that under these kind of circumstances the patient is to be put in a sandbagged area away from the surgical unit, given a shot of morphine and left to wait (triage) until others are treated.

Again, the medical team ignored the protocol.

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My Comment: That is one awesome video .... and one hell of a lucky soldier.

Decisions Have Consequences In Afghanistan

American soldiers search for caves concealing weapons in eastern Afghanistan. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

Tales Of Our Time: How Not To Enter A Valley In Afghanistan -- Foreign Policy

Here is a smart guest report from Mac Mccallister, freshly returned from a long tour of duty in Afghanistan. "FID" is foreign internal defense, or training the locals to provide security. "CT" is "counterterror." "Close air" is of course helicopters or airplanes that fire in support of troops on the ground. And "COIN" is counterinsurgency. But you knew that.

Navy Commander and platoon of artillery men converted into infantry seek to enter valley to do some nation-building. Local police chief strongly advises against plan for there be bad men in the valley who had not invited the good guys for tea. Navy commander disagrees and enters the valley anyway for he fears no one. A little while later his command is hammered... The artillery men fight well and disengage with small loses. Doesn't matter though for the word spreads quickly that a band of local fighters has defeated a great invading force. More young men rally to the cause.

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My Comment: A sobering tale of Afghanistan. A world that almost all of us back home rarely hear and/or know about.

Do Mention The War, Say Scientists

Members of the Post Office Home Guard receiving lessons on how to load the spigot mortar at a summer training camp in Hertfordshire. Photo: Getty Images

From The Telegraph:

Encouraging old people to talk about the war is good for their health, claim scientists.

Researchers have found that when the elderly sat around in groups discussing old times it improved their memory and limited the effects of dementia.

Reminiscence therapy, as it is technically known, could increase the cognitive recall and agility of the mind by up to 12 per cent in as little as six weeks, it was found.

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My Comment: There is some truth to this (in some cases) .... but in some cases this is probably not. My father never liked to talk about his war experience, and the only time he opened up was when he was drunk with men who had also served on the Russian front.

Otherwise .... this was a no man's land for everyone else.

Some Soldiers Never Forget

This image provided by the US Air Force shows aviator wings which were worn by U.S. Army Air Force pilots during World War II. Sixty- five years after his plane was shot down in Germany, bomber pilot Bernerd Harding is returning to the small town in hopes he can find the wings he buried in the dirt cellar where he was held captive. (AP Photo/US Air Force)

Ex-POW Hopes German Cellar Holds His Pilot's Wings -- Yahoo News/AP

CONCORD, N.H. – Sixty-five years ago, 1st Lt. Bernerd Harding huddled in a cellar with a few other airmen captured by German farmers and buried his pilot's wings, fearful he'd be beaten or shot as an American bomber pilot.

Now, at age 90, Harding wants his wings back. He's headed to Germany on Sunday and hopes — with the help of a German doctor — to find the farmhouse cellar and dig up the 3-inch-long metal wings that he had proudly pinned to his shirt.

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My Comment: This must have been on his mind for the past 65 years .... and with each passing year it was probably bugging him even more. I hope that he finds peace of mind at the end of his journey.

Profile In Courage

Lance Corporal Sally Clarke, who defied her own shrapnel injuries to treat seven wounded comrades following a grenade attack by the Taliban. MoD/PA

Riddled With Shrapnel, But Still She Saved Seven Comrades From Taliban -- The Independent

Army medic remained at scene of Afghan attack to treat injured soldiers.

An Army medic ignored the shards of shrapnel embedded in her back to remain at the scene of a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan and treat seven injured comrades.

Lance Corporal Sally Clarke of 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, stayed in the firing line to help fellow soldiers including Corporal Paul Mather, who managed to radio jets circling above and instruct them to open fire on insurgents despite bleeding heavily from wounds the size of his fist.

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Update: Pictured: Heroic female medic who ignored shrapnel embedded in her shoulder to save SEVEN soldiers during Taliban attack -- The Daily Mail

My Comment: A very good friend of mine (just as attractive as Lance Corporal Sally Clarke) served in the British Army as a fitness instructor for a number of years. I learned (and I am still learning) two things from her .... her mental and physical toughness. Put her into a firefight or any other stressful situation, she would persevere and come on top. I am sure that Lance Corporal Sally Clarke exhibits these same traits.

I know that women in certain areas of the military (because of the physical hardships) should not serve. i.e. infantry lugging 100 lb sacks for many miles and days. But I do recognize that in many combat situations, they have not only served well but with full honors. Lance Corporal Sally Clarke is definitely one of them.

The Personal Cost Of War

Sgt. Blue C. Rowe was killed when a suicide bomber in an explosives-rigged car rammed into his convoy in Afghanistan.

Paratrooper Killed In Afghanistan By Suicide Bomber -- L.A. Times

Before Blue Rowe went overseas, he always made sure everything was squared away at home.

Just two days before he left for Afghanistan last August, the Army sergeant paid all the bills and helped his wife, Cindy, and 8-year-old son Andrew settle into a house in Whittier.

"He always made sure me and Andrew were taken care of all the time," said his wife, 37. "I never had to worry about him because he was so careful and so cautious."

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My Comment: Prayers to the Rowe family. A reminder of the cost of war and the service of our soldiers.

Airman Honored For Bravery During Fierce Battle

Sgt. Zachary J. Rhyner, shown in an undated photo, will be awarded the Air Force Cross on Tuesday for his actions during an April battle in Shok Valley, Afghanistan. Rhyner is assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina and is the second Pope airmen to receive the award. AP (Air Force Special Operations Command)

From NPR:

Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner's story is one of heroism in battle. On April 6, 2008, Rhyner and his team were participating in an assault on Shok Valley in northeastern Afghanistan.

At first light, giant helicopters swooped into the valley. The mission of the special forces teams was to capture an insurgent — what the military calls a high value target. No coalition forces had ever been to that area before. There was no place to land. There was an icy river running down the middle of the valley — a river they hadn't been told about.

Once in the valley, Rhyner's team had to climb. The village was hundreds of feet above them. They had made it about 60 feet up before things went wrong.

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A Story Of Bravery During The Battle, And After The Battle

A close up of Mark Robbins' prosthetic right eye, bearing the SEALs' Trident. David Banks

SEAL Lost Eye, But Teammates Never Lost Nerve -- Navy Times

CORONADO, Calif. — The story floated around this naval amphibious base last year: An instructor of SEAL candidates yanked out his prosthetic right eye, presumably while lashing out at tired-out candidates suffering from the chilly Pacific surf.

The sun’s rays would reflect the SEAL trident symbol etched onto the surface of the eye. The effect of the trident coming alive, in a way, unnerved quite a few first-phase students who hoped to earn themselves the famous pin.

The story was no tall tale. The Trident eye belongs to retired Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Mark Robbins, who lost his eye in combat in Iraq.

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