‘They all came back for me:’ Troops honored for valor
Five 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers, including the commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, were honored in Afghanistan this week for their efforts to save fellow soldiers following a deadly attack.
The soldiers’ heroic efforts came as they were returning to Kandahar Airfield, where the brigade serves as part of Train Advise Assist Command - South, on Aug. 2.
An armored vehicle in their convoy, with six soldiers inside, was struck by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, killing two of the soldiers and injuring four others.
According to the citations for awards presented on Oct. 31, 1st Brigade soldiers “with complete disregard for their own personal safety” dismounted from their own vehicle to rescue their fellow soldiers from the burning vehicle.
On Tuesday, Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, awarded the paratroopers with medals honoring their efforts.
Capt. Brian A. Jacobs, Staff Sgt. Adam R. Scarbrough and Staff Sgt. Christopher B. Brown were awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, according to a spokesman for the 1st Brigade. Brown also received the Purple Heart for wounds received during the attack.
Col. Tobin A. Magsig, the commander of the 1st Brigade, and Sgt. 1st Class Miguel A. Rey were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, the spokesman said.
The paratroopers are among a force of approximately 2,700 1st Brigade soldiers currently serving across Afghanistan in a variety of roles.
The Aug. 2 attack came just a few weeks into the deployment. The attack killed two soldiers — Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, 25, of Jackson Springs and Sgt. Jonathon Michael Hunter, 23, of Columbus, Indiana — and injured four others.
One of the soldiers who survived the attack, Staff Sgt. Sarah Zimmerman, told the Observer earlier this year that the blast knocked over the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, or MRAP.
She came to after the blast with the vehicle burning and her right leg stuck. All other surviving soldiers had been able to escape.
According to the 82nd Airborne Division, Scarborough and Jacobs climbed into the burning vehicle through the gunner’s hatch to free Zimmerman. Brown and Magsig then helped pull her to safety.
Zimmerman and two other soldiers injured in the attack are currently recovering at Fort Bragg
In August, she said her fellow paratroopers saved her life.
“I thanked them, especially Scarborough” she said. “Without him, I would not have gotten out of that truck.”
“A lot of people call us heroes. I don’t feel like one,” Zimmerman added. “But they are. They all came back for me.”
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20171102/they-all-came-back-for-me-troops-honored-for-valor
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These are the articles that should be all over the news.
Living up to their motto, 82nd Airborne, All American
The uncommon valor displayed by our American fighting men and women is something to be admired. They show all of us that we can be a better person. I wonder if that's why some people dislike them? Because they see the type of person they could be if they had the courage to do it, since they don't it's easier to look down on them than accept what is lacking in their own make up.