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A gutsy G.I. rescues sitting-duck platoon
The New York Daily News ^ | 5/16/04 | Michael Daly

Posted on 05/18/2004 6:02:24 AM PDT by Gothmog

From the same New York Army National Guard unit that picked up escaped hostage Thomas Hamill comes word of a young soldier who killed 20 or more Iraqi insurgents when his patrol was ambushed on Easter Sunday. Spec. Timmy Haag of South Glens Falls, N.Y., made his remarkable display of courage and cool under fire as C Company, 2nd Battalion of the 108th Light Infantry was conducting a sweep of southern Samarra in open 5-ton trucks. The vehicles are so slow and high-riding that it borders on the criminal to transport soldiers on them into a known hot spot bristling with rocket-propelled grenades.

Troops nicknamed the trucks "RPG magnets," Staff Sgt. Troy Mechanick said on Friday.

The nickname proved tragically apt when the truck carrying Haag and 13 other members of his platoon was roughly 100 yards past a mosque flying the fedayeen flag. An RPG slammed into the left side, killing 21-year-old Pfc. Nathan Brown of South Glens Falls.

Many more might have died had Brown not taken the brunt of the blast. Two others were seriously wounded, including Mechanick, who was lifted to his feet by the concussion.

"It turned everything yellow and green, then everything goes slow," Mechanick recalled.

The grenade was followed by automatic weapons fire, and Mechanick tried to reach for his M-4 rifle. His left hand did not go where he commanded it and he realized his arm was hanging limp at his side, broken in four places. He reached with his right hand and saw the middle finger was dangling, all but severed.

"I said to myself, 'I don't need that to shoot,'" Mechanick recalled.

He managed to undo the safety and raise his rifle, but the weapon failed to fire.

"It was full of shrapnel," Mechanick said.

Mechanick turned to a wounded soldier and asked to use his weapon.

"His response was I'm crazy," Mechanick recalled. "My response was, 'No, I want to live.' ... Somebody called out, 'Nate's dead.' I called out, 'We've got to keep security up, or we'll all be dead.'"

Haag had begun returning fire with his SAW machine gun from the first moments after the blast.

"First thing he did was stand up on the driver's side," Mechanick recalled. "He saw a couple of enemy soldiers. He suppressed them, killing two or three immediately."

Haag turned to the passenger side and suppressed the fire coming from that direction. He and fellow soldier James MacDonald then clambered down and fought their way down the line of vehicles to notify their commander their truck had been hit.

"Small arms fire, AK-47 and RPG," Mechanick recalled "Haag's just running though it and as he's running he's shooting, killing people."

Haag and MacDonald passed four alleys, each of which had between six and 15 enemies armed with automatic weapons and RPGs. Haag is said to have shot them all.

"Timmy Haag was phenomenal," Mechanick said. "When the firefight happened, Timmy Haag was the man."

Haag and MacDonald dashed back to their truck. Haag emptied the last 200-round drum of his squad automatic weapon and clambered into a truck so high-riding the unit had welded on a ladder in the back. An RPG skipped off the road where he had been standing.

Haag grabbed another weapon as the line of a half-dozen vehicles began lumbering toward the nearest American outpost. Haag called out that he would cover the right side while another soldier covered the left.

Mechanick had numerous other wounds and he was pale and short of breath from the loss of blood. Haag kept calling to him and nudging him with his boot as he fired.

"He knew I was going to sleep, and if you go to sleep you don't ever wake up," Mechanick said. "He's shooting at the enemy, kicking me, shooting at the enemy, kicking me: 'Sgt. Mechanick, don't you go to sleep.' Shoot a couple of rounds. Kick me. 'Sgt. Mechanick, don't you go to sleep.'"

Two roadside bombs went off close enough to lift the truck off the ground. Haag spotted an Iraqi fleeing a courtyard, detonator still in hand. Haag cut the bomber in half and kept firing, by one estimate 1,500 rounds in all.

Mechanick clung to consciousness as the patrol reached the outpost, and he was flown out by helicopter. He was later told that Haag stayed on the truck with Brown, covering the body with a poncho and keeping a kind of honor guard.

Haag saw that Brown's American flag shoulder patch had been blown off. Haag retrieved it, cleaned it as best he could and handed it to Staff Sgt. Patrick Abrams.

Finally, Haag and Abrams gently lowered the fallen soldier from a vehicle that never should have been used to send them into harm's way. Mechanick later described Brown as "the perfect kid" and recalled that the Army promised when they headed for Iraq in February that they would be given armored vehicles.

"They lied to us," Mechanick said.

No armor guarantees protection, but even unarmored Humvees would have at least been low to the ground and fast. One detail did not escape Mechanick's attention as he lay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, watching news reports of his company's May 2 encounter with Thomas Hamill.

"What was in the background? Five-tons," Mechanick said.

Mechanick is now back home, trying to adjust to a country that imagines itself not at war and hoping we will learn something from Brown's death. Haag is still in that place called The Sandbox, riding RPG magnets, known to be extraordinarily bright and a talented artist as well as a soldier whose courage would be called uncommon had he not so many brave comrades.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: ambush; americanhero; army; banglist; centcom; easter; enemy; guntrucks; gutsandglory; heroes; insurgents; iraq; killed; nationalguard; soldiers; thomashamill; wheeledarmor
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To: Lost Highway

The Humvee was supposed to be a replacement for the jeep. You never heard of the jeep being armored. Why? Because it wasn't meant to be a "front lines" vehicle.

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is supposed to be transporting troops in fire zones.

Someone has got to bring this 'lack of armored vehicles' brouhaha into perspective. In a guerilla war you don't have a 'front line' so what is the answer--transport all troops at all times in tanks and Bradleys?


41 posted on 05/18/2004 9:33:46 AM PDT by wildbill
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To: backhoe

Didn't we see a thread that had some Vietnam Vets praising 5 tons as a firing platform? Makes you wonder if they haven't forgotten how to weld some .50 on board?


42 posted on 05/18/2004 9:33:49 AM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (Fear knocked at the door, faith answered it and there was nothing there.)
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To: Ancesthntr

I wonder if he'll get a $1 million book deal like Jessica Lynch.


43 posted on 05/18/2004 9:49:28 AM PDT by IDontLikeToPayTaxes
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To: Gothmog
""He knew I was going to sleep, and if you go to sleep you don't ever wake up," Mechanick said. "He's shooting at the enemy, kicking me, shooting at the enemy, kicking me: 'Sgt. Mechanick, don't you go to sleep.' Shoot a couple of rounds. Kick me. 'Sgt. Mechanick, don't you go to sleep.'" "

WOW!

44 posted on 05/18/2004 10:00:08 AM PDT by Countyline
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To: Gothmog
"Mechanick is now back home, trying to adjust to a country that imagines itself not at war ..."

Are we blind ... or what?

45 posted on 05/18/2004 10:03:36 AM PDT by Countyline
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Or a modern-day Audie Murphy.


46 posted on 05/18/2004 10:19:12 AM PDT by Redbob (saving this space for witty comebacks)
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To: Conspiracy Guy
"Eight years of cuts by Clinton and 17 years of "No Votes" for Military by Kerry have taken their toll."

Forgive me a little skepticism here: Dubya's been President since sometime early in '01, and here it is over 3 years later.
'Bout time to stop using the old Clinton excuse.

47 posted on 05/18/2004 10:22:32 AM PDT by Redbob (saving this space for witty comebacks)
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To: Pharmboy

check out where this guy is from.


48 posted on 05/18/2004 10:23:46 AM PDT by thefactor
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To: Redbob
How 'bout this...

This administration, made up of human beings - and thus imperfect - constantly analyzes, consults with those on the ground - doing the fighting and planning and commanding - makes adjustments as needed....a flexible, adult, (and I doubt any military in history could have handled events on the ground any better than this awesome group) - as needs will and do constantly change.

They have never wilfully endangered our troops - never!

On the other hand, anyone can readily make the case that our opposition has, and does, endanger our troops daily - intentionally undermining our war efforts, morale, emboldening our enemies - getting our troops killed - for the sake of vanity and personal power.

49 posted on 05/18/2004 11:05:27 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl ("We are doing the right thing for the Iraqi people...the truth will stand on its own." - US Marine)
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To: wildbill
Someone has got to bring this 'lack of armored vehicles' brouhaha into perspective. In a guerilla war you don't have a 'front line' so what is the answer--transport all troops at all times in tanks and Bradleys?

Thank you for bringing it into perspective.

50 posted on 05/18/2004 11:10:25 AM PDT by Dolphy (I joined the redlipstick boycott of MSNBC)
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To: Redbob

'Bout time you realized how long it takes to get equipment produced and on line. Add to this ,over a year of Senatorial obstruction and frankly a curious lack of urgency among the populous and you have a formula for this. Now, I do think tha tsome of the handwringing here might be better suited for the Kerryites, but the fact remains, the vast majority of tactical vehicles are not, in fact, armored, nor will that be practical. The fact the hadjis got a lucky hit does not in any way make the 5 ton a bad or useless vehicle anymore than the Hummer is a bad vehicle.


51 posted on 05/18/2004 11:12:52 AM PDT by gatorbait (Yesterday, today and tomorrow......The United States Army)
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To: Redbob

I'd almost bet you've already complained about the cost of the War.


52 posted on 05/18/2004 11:20:43 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy (I know it doesn't make sense, I said it.)
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To: Gothmog

BTTT


53 posted on 05/18/2004 11:23:20 AM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: gatorbait

Some people think you just turn a tap and equipment falls out.


54 posted on 05/18/2004 11:52:26 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy (I know it doesn't make sense, I said it.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

But John Kerry has more medals than this guy -- nyah! nyah! nyah!


John Kerry is no commander in chief, and no man as compared to this man.


55 posted on 05/18/2004 2:35:31 PM PDT by CHICAGOFARMER (Citizen Carry)
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To: ClearCase_guy

But John Kerry has more medals than this guy -- nyah! nyah! nyah!


John Kerry is no commander in chief, and no man as compared to this man.


56 posted on 05/18/2004 2:45:14 PM PDT by CHICAGOFARMER (Citizen Carry)
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To: Redbob

Pardon me, but A) The President's been charged with too much spending on defense by the Democrats.

B) Even if this were not the case, the president
is not the one who drafts bills or passes legislation.
That's for Congress to do.

The blame should be put on Congress. On the democrats for
voting no on spending bills and on the Republicans for not
pushing more aggressively for it.


57 posted on 05/18/2004 2:48:30 PM PDT by Sockdologer
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To: Gothmog

Thanks. Story gave me shivers. Good to see the noble side
of our troops again.


58 posted on 05/18/2004 2:49:46 PM PDT by Sockdologer
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To: Gothmog; Ragtime Cowgirl; Cannoneer No. 4; blam; Travis McGee; wardaddy
I love our troops.
59 posted on 05/18/2004 2:56:40 PM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: USVet6792Retired
But all our paratroopers deserve armored vehicles.
60 posted on 05/18/2004 3:03:21 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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