John Wayne Lives

I know this was on the daily round up but I have great affection for 3rd SFG and this made my day.

Quote:

---

10 Green Berets to Receive Silver Star for Afghan Battle

...As Ford and Staff Sgt. John Wayne Walding returned fire, Walding was hit below his right knee. Ford turned and saw that the bullet "basically amputated his right leg right there on the battlefield."

Walding, of Groesbeck, Tex., recalled: "I literally grabbed my boot and put it in my crotch, then got the boot laces and tied it to my thigh, so it would not flop around. There was about two inches of meat holding my leg on." He put on a tourniquet, watching the blood flow out the stump to see when it was tight enough.

Then Walding tried to inject himself with morphine but accidentally used the wrong tip of the syringe and put the needle in this thumb, he later recalled. "My thumb felt great," he said wryly, noting that throughout the incident he never lost consciousness. "My name is John Wayne," he said.

---

Walding's A Team leader Captain Kyle Walton has an interview video here with Barbara Starr

We should all be proud,

Tom

Great post Tom !
Although, 5th Group is still my favorite (and a Delta Team of Rangers bailing our dead alphas ;) ).

De Oppresso Liber

Regards, Stan

Sort of. :D :D :D

7-up!!!

Just reading the title, I thought to myself, "I bet I know exactly what raid these awards are for." Sure enough, I was right. U.S. soldiers had never even been within 30 miles of that village before that day. That was one very long day for me and much, much worse for those guys. The aviators on that operation did some amazing flying and are in for similar awards as well.

The photo below is not the exact village they raided, but is nearby in Nuristan and similar in terrain and layout. Imagine air assaulting to the base of the village and assaulting up steep muddy terraces while under heavy fire. Insane.

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI...k_2070-427.jpg

I am glad those guys are on our side.

Thanks for posting that!!! Highly motivating reading during these challenging times.

The rest of the story

Quote:

---

Fayetteville (NC) Observer
March 11, 2009
Pg. 1

Airman Gets Medal For Valor

By John Ramsey, Staff writer

Shot through the leg in the opening minutes of a 6 hour firefight, Staff Sgt. Zachary J. Rhyner kept his focus and called in the airstrikes that kept his pinned-down unit from being overrun by insurgents in the mountains of Afghanistan.

The combat controller trained for covert missions was the center of attention Tuesday when he received the Air Force’s second-highest award for valor. Rhyner is only the third airman to receive the Air Force Cross since 2001.

In a ceremony at Pope Air Force Base, Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, pinned the Air Force Cross to Rhyner’s chest. Then Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz tagged him with a purple heart for his injury in combat. Rhyner received a standing ovation from 1,100 fellow airmen.

On April 6, 2008, during his first deployment to Afghanistan, Rhyner jumped into the Shok Valley with about 100 Special Forces and Afghan soldiers. As they began to climb from the valley into the village where they hoped to capture some high-value targets, they met an ambush from about 200 insurgents.

---