Surrounded on all sides by
hardened Taliban fighters, a
vastly outnumbered force of
Americans and Afghans fought
nearly to the last bullet.
In June 2006, 47-year-old
Master Sergeant Brendan
O'Connor of the 7th Special
Forces Group – the Army's
elite Green Berets – was the
team's medic during
Operation Kaika. The Taliban
believed this isolated group
of Americans and Afghans,
numbering less than 70,
would be an easy target.
They were gravely mistaken.
When the terrorists sprang
their trap, the sky exploded
with the thunder of rifle,
machine-gun, and grenade
fire from both sides. The
main group was separated by
more than 100 yards, and the
situation at both positions
was dire.
O'Connor heard over the
radio that several wounded
men ahead of a forward
position could be overrun at
any moment. Leading a team
of eight, he quickly
traversed the distance
between the two positions
and took stock of the
situation. There he saw two
wounded men – Staff Sergeant
Matthew Binney and Staff
Sergeant Joseph Fuerst –
farther ahead and knew he
had to reach them.
Disregarding three enemy
machine-guns, O'Connor
dropped to his stomach and
began an arduous crawl to
the wounded troops. Restricted in his movements
by his protective armor,
O'Connor paused and removed
the only shield he had from
the hostile onslaught, his
Interceptor bullet proof
vest. He traded his armor
for a cloth sign that he
pinned to his back to alert
the close-air support
attack helicopters that he
was friendly.
The 200 foot crawl was
nearly an hour and a half of
constant enemy fire directed
at the brave American.
Reaching a compound to which
he could pull the wounded,
he singlehandedly moved the
two soldiers there and
performed emergency
first-aid. As night fell,
O'Connor made several trips
to move the Binney and
Fuerst back to the advanced
position. From there, they
were able to medevac the
injured, and begin their own
exfiltration to the security
of the patrol base.
While Fuerst did not survive
his severe injuries, Binney
lived because of the bold
decision made by a
47-year-old-medic more
concerned with the lives of
his friends than his own.
For his actions, O'Connor
was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross,
the first time a member of
the 7th Special Forces Group
was awarded this honor since
July of 1964. |
