Awesome People

[sexobon]

Remember this one about Ronald J. Shurer?

This is about one of his cow-orkers...

John Wayne Walding

The full linked story is worth reading. Snippets below:

This Green Beret had his leg shot off on a 'cursed' mission, but that didn't stop him from becoming an elite sniper

... so the team's medic, Staff Sgt. Ron Shurer, ...

... On April 6, 2008, a handful of troops with Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, 3rd Special Forces Group and a number of Afghan commandos flew into Shok Valley. It was the start of what Walding called "a very long day at the office." ...

... An Afghan interpreter had been killed, and two US soldiers, Staff Sgt. Dillon Behr and Staff Sgt. Luis Morales, were severely wounded. Supporting, Walding moved into position between them and the incoming fire. "That's when I got shot," he said.

An enemy sniper shot Walding in the leg, nearly tearing it from his body. "It was hanging on by like a tendon or two," Wallen said. "I've never seen an injury that looked that bad."

"I never will forget falling forward and then rolling over to see that leg just hanging there by only about an inch of flesh," Walding recalled. "It was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life."

Walding was not done fighting though. After putting a tourniquet in place to stop the bleeding, he used his boot laces to strap the bottom part of his leg to his thigh, picked up his rifle, and got back to it. ...

... Ten members of Walding's team, himself included, would later be awarded the Silver Star. Not since Vietnam had that many Silver Stars been awarded for a single engagement. And, two of the soldiers who were in Shok Valley later received the Medal of Honor for their courage under fire. ...

[Diaphone Jim]

sexobon:
Since World War Two, it would seem that America has trained a whole bunch of snipers to kill foreign people in their own homelands in wars that were never declared.
I don't think I like the idea very much.
Being the target of quite a few such attacks and losing close comrades to them complicates that feeling but doesn't change it.

I am pretty sure you will have a justification for us.

[sexobon]

You served during a conflict that wasn't our fight. We were interventionists on someone else's behalf. There was an indirect relationship to our ideology which leaves more room for doubt about whether or not the means were appropriate and if it was worth the sacrifices. Your perspective is influenced by those circumstances.

Someone responding to a direct threat against us, as terrorists have perpetrated, recognizes the value of taking the fight into enemy territory so that it doesn't continue here. They are more accepting of the sacrifices and have fewer reservations about using the means at their disposal.

Military snipers are just another weapon in the arsenal. Sniper training also makes for better counter-snipers. That's why we have police snipers too.

I'm not going to try to justify this country's military excursions. I served between the Vietnam conflict and the first Golf War (I wouldn't have chosen to participate in either); but, don't construe that to mean I haven't been exposed to similar risks and lost friends. I am a Cold War veteran. SF is currently operating in about 29 different countries and it's always been that way (a lot of Americans can't even name 29 countries). It's the nature of clandestine ops that one doesn't wear their experiences on their sleeve. I can say though, I wouldn't have had a problem with operating in countries that housed terrorist training camps. An ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure in areas other than medicine.

Flashback: The Beetles released their album Abbey Road on this date in 1969.

[monster]

Lots of them in this story, read the whole thing

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54572806