Posted on 10/11/2009 9:13:10 PM PDT by naturalman1975
No one writes about them. Their deeds go unsung. Which is why, for this gripping series, two writers decided to track down the awe-inspiring stories of the Army medics who have saved countless lives in recent British wars.
They are a special breed of soldier - the medics who go selflessly into the heart of battle and risk their own lives to save others.
Here, in the first part of a gripping series, we reveal the astonishingly heroic actions of two such medics and the men they fought to save, despite a horrifying lack of equipment and communication, in the scorching heat of the Afghan desert three years ago...
He came haring down the hill and out onto the valley floor. From an observation post overlooking the strategic Kajaki Dam in southern Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Stuart Hale had spotted Taliban insurgents and was running fast at the head of his patrol to reach a point where he could pick them off with his rifle. Without a pause in his stride, he stretched out his leg to hurdle a dry riverbed. He never heard the blast.
'As my right foot touched the ground, I fell, as if I'd stood on a banana skin,' said Hale. In this matter-of-fact manner, the 3 Para soldier was maimed for life.
'I looked down and saw the stump, which was all that remained of my leg.'
The bottom half had been sheared off. Shrapnel had exploded into his calf. The bone was broken and splayed out at an impossible angle. 'Only then did I realise I'd stood on a mine.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Long, but well worth the read.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.