Major K.: The Right Stuff.

Chuck Yeager has nothing on these guys.

Backtracking Part II

I have already seen plenty here that many people never get to see and some that no people ever should have to see. I have also heard many stories that would be unbelievable if they were not true. In many cases, I have seen the aftermath of many of these stories arriving after the part worth telling had taken place. While Dup is still missed by his brothers in Charlie Company, there is another story from that horrible day that Dup was killed. Dup was not the only one fired upon by the arhabi sniper. A second shot was fired that hit SGT C. in the throat. He was not grazed on the side, he was shot through the center of his neck. SGT C. already knew at the time that his unit was under attack by a sniper. As his men came to get him out of the line of fire he warned them to stay back. He knew that one of them could be next, and he was unwilling to put his men at risk. Well, they just wouldn't have it, and came forward anyway, pulling him back to a covered position where they administered first-aid and prepared to evacuate him. Luckily, no one else was hit that day. SGT C. was evacuated to the Military Hospital in the Green zone where he was pronounced the luckiest man in Iraq. The sniper's bullet had passed through his neck and throat with an absolute minimum of damage. It missed his carotid artery, jugular vein, spine, and spinal cord by millimeters. He was offered the opportunity to fly to Germany and probably then on to the US to recuperate by the medical staff. He turned it down. He wanted to get back to his men and his brothers in Charlie Company. While the news of Dup's tragic death made headlines in local papers back home, no reporter ever came by to learn about this. They just regurgitated the military press release and called the family. I could even give them a headline for the article: "THE RIGHT STUFF."