Caught in a firefight 2:07
CNN's Barbara Starr has the story and the dramatic video of U.S. troops caught in a firefight in Afghanistan.
Bonded in battle, Green Berets earn Silver Stars
Dec. 11: Ten Special Forces soldiers who fought one of the Afghanistan war's fiercest battles will be honored at Fort Bragg Friday. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
By Ann Scott Tyson
WASHINGTON - After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled up the steep mountainside toward its target — an insurgent stronghold in northeast Afghanistan.
"Our plan," Capt. Kyle M. Walton recalled in an interview, "was to fight downhill."
But as the soldiers maneuvered toward a cluster of thick-walled mud buildings constructed layer upon layer about 1,000 feet farther up the mountain, insurgents quickly manned fighting positions, readying a barrage of fire for the exposed Green Berets.
A harrowing, nearly seven-hour battle unfolded on that mountainside in Afghanistan's Nuristan province on April 6, as Walton, his team and a few dozen Afghan commandos they had trained took fire from all directions. Outnumbered, the Green Berets fought on even after half of them were wounded — four critically — and managed to subdue an estimated 150 to 200 insurgents, according to interviews with several team members and official citations.
Today, Walton and nine of his teammates from Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 of the 3rd Special Forces Group will receive the Silver Star for their heroism in that battle — the highest number of such awards given to the elite troops for a single engagement since the Vietnam War.
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.
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You can't get much more elite than that....just wow.
ReplyDeleteThe whole story is just amazing but Walding is as you said "wow"
ReplyDeleteI went to school and have known Staff Sgt. John Walding for many years. He is a great person with a heart of gold. I am so proud to say he is a friend.
ReplyDeleteGBT,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment and sharing. He must really be amazing. Then again, most of them are.
I had the privilege of serving next to John Wayne and was his room mate at our first duty station together before he went Green Beret. Let me tell you. That man is a true patriot of the U.S. and Texas. He loves his country and most importantly, loves his country men. This story does not surprise me one bit. He would take a bullet for his brothers in arms and took them for everyone already. He was a very good friend to me and was there for me for during some hard times. He knew how to be serious and say the right things when needed. Those who know him know he would have everyone around him laughing most of the time. It is rare to see young men these days who have talent and everything but still be humble and caring of others. He helped me to be a better man and am blessed to have been his friend.
ReplyDeleteEddie Cuellar
San Antonio, TX
Eddie,
ReplyDeleteIt is my honor to post your comment. Thank you very much for it. We never really get to hear enough stories about any of you past the headlines.