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Photo and information courtesy of US Army / DoD |
Trapped with his unit in
an exposed position,
Ruske returned fire so
most of the platoon
could move to protective
cover. Ruske then moved
to a rooftop and
continued laying fire
even after taking a
bullet to the hip.
At that point, Ruske
realized that two Afghan
National Police officers
were still pinned down
in the open, taking fire
from their Taliban
attackers. One ran for
cover, but the other
officer – one Ruske had
worked with at vehicle
checkpoints and chatted
with through an
interpreter – had been
shot and was trying to
crawl to safety through
a hail of bullets.
“Seeing that dirt kick
up no more than six
inches from his head, I
said, “Man, this is
jacked up,” Ruske said
later. “They are still
shooting at this guy. He
is still bleeding and
shot.
We have to go get
him.” Disregarding his
own safety, Ruske
“simply reacted to the
training” the Army had
used to prepare him for
combat, he said.
Ruske
ordered his squad
automatic weapon gunner,
Army Spc. Walter Reed,
to spray the enemy in a
Z-shaped pattern,
expending a whole box of
200 rounds to give Ruske
and his buddy, Army Spc.
Eric Seagraves, time to
run out to retrieve the
officer. The two dodged
bullets as they grabbed
the Afghan police
officer's arms and
dragged him toward a
wall that provided
protective covering.
Only when Ruske and
Seagraves went to lift
the man behind the wall
did they realize that
the Afghan police
officer's leg had been
shattered. |
