Posted on 09/02/2009 6:14:14 AM PDT by naturalman1975
An heroic army medic treated seven injured comrades after a Taliban attack in Afghanistan despite being wounded with shrapnel herself, it emerged today. Lance Corporal Sally Clarke, of 2 Rifles, ignored the searing pain caused by the shards embedded in her shoulder and back and set about treating the rest of her patrol.
The worst hit was Corporal Paul Mather who incredibly managed to radio instructions for jets circling above to open fire on Taliban insurgents despite bleeding heavily from wounds the size of his fist. Corporal Mather, 28, and Lance Corporal Clarke, 22, from Cheltenham, were on patrol south of Sangin when insurgents fired rocket propelled grenades over a wall as soldiers dealt with an anti-tank mine.
Hot flying shrapnel sliced open Corporal Mather's body, leaving gaping holes across his arms, legs and buttocks. He said: 'It hurt like hell, but once the explosions stopped and my hearing came back, I managed to climb through a ditch towards a group of soldiers treating other casualties.
'I had a hole in my left bicep, so the medics applied a field dressing and tourniquet to stem the blood flow.' Despite being entitled to get out as soon as she was hit Lance Corporal Clarke refused, insisting she would not leave the patrol without a medic.
She said: 'I didn't feel like my injuries were bad enough to go back to the hospital, particularly as I was the only medic on the ground at the time.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
A-Ten-SHUN!
wonder if she is single.... :)
God bless her and all our brave soldiers.
Ping! For the loyalty & patriotism of our military personnel!
She’s a remarkable woman. God bless her and all those who risk their lives to fight for freedom.
FWIW, she's British.
Briliant work, nonetheless!
She’s got pretty nice teeth for a Brit.
Well, not everybody needs dental work to have good teeth.
Holy Sh%t! Didn’t realize she was a Brit! But kudos for her loyalty & patriotism anyway!
Thanks for the heads up in my misread!
Sorry. Its NOT a Victoria Cross type deed. Maybe a DSO?
Good to know there are women willing to volunteer and serve on the front lines. I can name so many families whose young men are not willing...
...this woman is great!!....but...it’s a sad state of affairs when women are combat wounded like this....same in our army.
Pity. She should be acknowledged and rewarded at the highest level possible.
As a holder of the Queen's Commission, who was taught the criteria to recommend such things, it looks a MC to me. Still a very worthy honour.
Believe me, while the VC is exceptionally special, those who receive decorations such as the CGC or MC more than earned them though their bravery. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting one, if that is what the bravery you were called upon to show deserves.
Most of those who receive these other awards would have got the VC if things had been more dangerous in my view. They take the decision to act in the face of danger - they don’t stop to assess precisely how dangerous it was.
Hero Hottie Ping!
To be on or off the Hottie Ping List please FReepmail me.
Well done ma’am.
You do know that most troopers awarded the VC died in the process of earning it, right?
If, after she was wounded, she had repeated braved enemy fire to retrieve her wounded comrades, and ignored her own life-threatening wounds to treat them THEN you’re in VC territory. naturalman1975 says she’ll probably get a Military Cross. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Cross
I think that is like our DSC.
Forget it there is a long line of guys there... particularly 7 British soldiers.
As long as she is decorated. Her actions reflect not only on her. But show as an example to military members everywhere.
Good looking girl.
It's sometimes hard to compare decorations from different country's but the Military Cross is probably most equivalent to America's Silver Star.
You can’t let that stereotype go for one minute can you, even in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary?
Amen to that :)
I understand that the main limiting factor on getting a VC is that your action has to be witnessed by someone holding the queen’s commission (an officer in other words) who has to reccomend it.
Rather famously, Sergeant Thomas Durrant VC was awarded his Victoria Cross on the recommendation of the German officer who lead the attack, Durrant was defending against.
These requirements can be waived and have been in rare instances. But generally, yes, there needs to be a Commissioned Officer involved, and men have missed out on the VC because there were no surviving Officers to advance their cause.
What is so remarkable and inspiring about this story is that she did what she did for her “brothers”. I am certain she had NO THOUGHT of earning a medal. People with character like hers would be embarassed at all the talk of what medal she might have earned.
She didn’t do it for the Medals, no, but I know relatively few professional soldiers who are truly embarassed by being discussed as eligible for one.
I’m proud of mine - and nothing I did for those came close to this.
Hoo Rah!
I have read many accounts of MOH winners who lived. Most, not all, express the sentiment that anyone would have done the same thing in the same situation. Embarassed might be the wrong word. Humility might be better. Almost all of these MOH winners are uncomfortable being called a “hero”.
I can’t recall many expressing pride in earning the MOH.
Medics. God love em’.
I agree with you on this point. Have you ever read the accounts of MOH winners from any war? Many of them, maybe the majority, earned the medal by falling on a grenade and smothering the blast. One guy even lived through that situation(maybe more than one). Most, of course don't live to get the medal. I knew one genuine hero personally that would never talk about any of his medals(didn't have the MOH) or the actions he had fought in(WWII), mainly, I think, because he didn't like remembering those terrible times. If you called him a hero he would sometimes get angry and say that he just did stuff that he had to do.
This woman did good and saved her guys, that was her job and she did it despite the pain of being wounded, she deserves what ever medal she gets.
I’m thinking that (if or when) this lady has children, pity the fool that messes with the family.
“I can name so many families whose young men are not willing..”
Myth Romney’s boys come to mind.
I missed going into combat, but talking to all the ‘Nam vets at my station gave me the impression that the medics should never buy their own drinks. One pilot of ours recognized a dustoff crew chief and told me to never even let the guy buy his own food.
To care for others while bullets and explosions continually threaten you is a task worth such honors; we know they do it to help others, not for the decorations. That being said, this lovely lass certainly deserves one.
Amen!
Amen to that. God bless all medics. This young woman is a credit to England and a blessing for her unit.
Well, I wasn’t going to mention that because people get angry when I do, but now that you have...
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