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rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
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 Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:22 pm Post subject: How Marines become legends! |
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Paraphrased from Injured Marine Defies Attackers in the Omaha World Herald
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How Marines become legends!
The Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant in the picture is Michael Burghardt,
part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team that is supporting
the Nebraska Army National Guard.
Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt, known as "Iron Mike"
or just "Gunny." He is on his third tour in Iraq. He had become a legend in
the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze Star for disabling 64
IED's and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour.
Then, on September 19, he got blown up. He had arrived at a chaotic
scene after a bomb had killed four US soldiers. He chose not to wear the
bulky bomb protection suit. "You can't react to any sniper fire and you get
tunnel-vision," he explains. So, protected by just a helmet and standard-
issue flak jacket, he began what bomb disposal officers term "the longest
walk," stepping gingerly into a 5ft deep and 8ft wide crater. The earth
shifted slightly and he saw a Senao base station with a wire leading from
it. He cut the wire and used his 7in knife to probe the ground. "I found a
piece of red detonating cord between my legs," he says. "That's when I
knew I was screwed."
Realizing he had been sucked into a trap, Sgt. Burghardt, 35, yelled at
everyone to stay back. At that moment, an insurgent, probably watching
through binoculars, pressed a button on his mobile phone to detonate the
secondary device below the sergeant's feet. "A chill went up the back of
my neck and then the bomb exploded," he recalls. "As I was in the air I
remember thinking, 'I don't believe they got me.' I was just ticked off
they were able to do it. Then I was lying on the road, not able to feel
anything from the waist down."
His colleagues cut off his trousers to see how badly he was hurt.
None could believe his legs were still there. "My dad's a Vietnam vet who's
paralyzed from the waist down," says Sgt. Burghardt. "I was lying there
thinking I didn't want to be in a wheelchair next to my dad and for him to
see me like that. They started to cut away my pants and I felt a real sharp
pain and blood trickling down. Then I wiggled my toes and I thought, 'Good,
I'm in business.' "As a stretcher was brought over, adrenaline and anger
kicked in. "I decided to walk to the helicopter. I wasn't going to let my
team-mates see me being carried away on a stretcher."
He stood and gave the insurgents who had blown him up a one-fingered
salute. "I flipped them one. It was like, 'OK, I lost that round but I'll be
back next week.' I knew there was somebody disappointed out there."
Working together, the ordnance disposal Marines and the Nebraska
National Guardsmen have developed a mutual respect - there's no
Army-Marine trash-talking here.
Burghardt, an 18-year Marine with 15 years' experience disarming
explosives, returns the admiration from the Army soldiers.
"I feel part of this Army team," he said. "They take care of us like brothers."
Burghardt, 35, wouldn't accept painkillers when he was brought back to
camp by the Nebraskans. He knew he might need them later. And he's not
looking to leave Ramadi for five more months.
"I don't want a ticket out," he said. "I want to stay here so we can take as
many people home as possible."
Copies of the photograph depicting his defiance, taken by Jeff Bundy for the
Omaha World-Herald, adorn the walls of homes across America and that
of Col. John Gronski, the brigade commander in Ramadi, who has hailed
the image as an exemplar of the warrior spirit. Sgt. Burghardt's injuries -
burns and wounds to his legs and buttocks - kept him off duty for nearly a
month and could have earned him a ticket home. But, like his father - who
was awarded a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for being wounded in
action in Vietnam - he stayed in Ramadi to engage in the battle against
insurgents who are forever coming up with more ingenious ways of killing
Americans.
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Last edited by rbshirley on Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:29 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for posting this Bob. Iron Mike is a genuine hero and legend. I didn't see anything about this on any of the LIBERAL MSM stations or news channels. I'm glad someone found this article and let us all read it.
Jack
_________________
Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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MrJapan
PO1
Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 465
Location: Chiba, Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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Now THAT is a classic one for the books! |
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