3/31/2008
Uncommon Valor
American Soldier says,
I wanted to post about something that many people lack. Not that they don’t want to have it but that their fight or flight reaction steers them away from things like danger.
You don’t know you have it until you are actually faced with a dangerous situation. I’ll give you two examples and you will see and also read what that trait is all about.
Proctor served with 1st Battalion,1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division as a trainer in the Anbar Province of Iraq. He was in almost constant danger patrolling the most violent areas of the 5 Kilo District of Tammim, often with only one other coalition force member present. ”Proctor spent several days at Observation Post 293, one of the most isolated areas in Ramadi.
The post had been a target for insurgents in the area and routinely came under attack. Proctor was on duty when the post came under one of the fiercest attacks since its establishment. At approximately1415 hours the post began receiving indirect fire. Proctor was in a relatively safe location at the time, inside the cement barracks.
Cognizant of the hazards outside the barracks and without any official order to leave the safety of the building, Proctor quickly donned his protective equipment, went to assess the situation and render aid to those on security who were under attack. The severity of the attack was a diversion by the enemy in its attempt to destroy the observation post with a vehicular suicide bomb.
A large dump truck penetrated the west gate during the complex attack and continued moving toward the center of the observation post. Proctor immediately and aggressively stood his ground in the compound, firing more than 25 rounds from his M16 into the cab of the truck.
“He did not waver; he did not flinch, engaging the vehicle head-on as it was moving toward him and the remaining Soldiers in the building, ”said the narrative. He killed the driver of the dump truck before it could move further into the compound. The bomb detonated and Proctor was mortally wounded in the explosion. “Sgt. Joseph Proctor saved countless lives that fateful day by stopping the driver before he could reach his objective.
And a visual of the aforementioned trait. A Russian Fireman rescues a baby from a burning car. The parents were dead but this child survived.
2 Comments
.PNG)
