LTC Erik Kurilla (front right), the moment the bullets strike.(2nd LT front-left; radioman near-left; "AH" the interpreter is near-right.)
Posted on 08/25/2005 10:35:17 AM PDT by saquin
[...]
About fifteen seconds later our ramp dropped. We ran into combat.
Folks who haven't done much urban fighting might take issue with the wild chases, and they might say that people should always "stack up" and do things this or that way, but men in Delta Force, SEALs and the like, all know that when chasing wild men into the labyrinth, soldiers enter the land of confusion. If soldiers don't go fast, the bad guys simply get away. Just a few minutes ago, these three guys were going "105 miles per hour," and outrunning a helicopter.
There were shops, alleys, doorways, windows . . .which to me screamed: death, death, death, death...
The soldiers with LTC Kurilla were searching fast, weapons at the ready, and they quickly flex-cuffed two men. But these were not the right guys. Meanwhile, SSG Konkol's men were clearing towards us, leaving the three bad-guys boxed, but free.
Shots were fired behind us but around a corner to the left.
Both the young 2nd lieutenant and the young specialist were inside a shop when a close-quarters firefight broke out, and they ran outside. Not knowing how many men they were fighting, they wanted backup. LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. He passed by me and I chased, Kurilla leading the way.
There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot.
LTC Erik Kurilla (front right), the moment the bullets strike.(2nd LT front-left; radioman near-left; "AH" the interpreter is near-right.)
Three bullets reach flesh: One snaps his thigh bone in half.
[...]
Kurilla was running when he was shot, but he didn't seem to miss a stride; he did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting.
The Commander fights...
Thanks for enlarging those photographs. If the other photographs can be enlarged and posted without violating any of Yon's rights, it would sure be great to see them too.
BTT
Top notch. Without qualification.
Why the system consigns this to bloggers and personal is beyond me. That must be corrected.
It is bugging me more and more. I think this is a good example of why some on the right would say "not satisfied with the war effort" when responding to a poll. If it turns out that it is the US doing the release part of catch and release, then I want a full Hochstedder to occur.
"I picked up Prosser's M4. It was empty. I saw only Prosser's bloody leg lying still, just inside the darkened doorway, because most of his body was hidden behind a stack of sheet metal."
"Give me some ammo! Give me a magazine!" I yelled, and the young 2nd lieutenant handed over a full 30-round magazine. I jacked it in, released the bolt and hit the forward assist. I had only one magazine, so checked that the selector was on semi-automatic."
Just click on them in his blog to enlarge them. That's all I did.
The Kiowa swooped and banked hard in front of the car, firing three more shots through the front hood, the universal sign for "stop."
"I would be the one. The one to go back and speak. A pain beyond all previous now seized me. Sweet life itself, even the desperately sought chance to tell the tale, suddenly seemed unendurable alongside the pain of having to take leave of these whom I had come so to love."
He'd make a pretty grand soldier. I'm really impressed at how often he's afraid and just does it anyway. I'll bet the guys there are pretty fond of him.
I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to firearms. Are you saying this weapon is basically a .22?
What makes it a wimpy weapon (if, indeed, it is)?
Thanks for posting this is what I call real reporting
This is the letter I just wrote to the editors of the NY Times, along those lines:
Dear Editors,
On August 7, 2005 Damien Cave wrote an article titled "Missing In Action: The War Heroes", asking why no heroes have emerged from the Iraq war.
May I suggest that the reason we don't read about those heroes is because reporters are not reporting about them. I know many journalists may object to that but it is very obvious to those of us who read and watch the news. Journalists are so afraid of seeming to be "in the pocket" of the administration or the military that they are not willing to embed themselves with the military anymore, which is the only way they will be able to get out into the country and see what's really happening. The result is that reporters are locked up in the Green Zone, relying on secondhand information from dubious sources.
Mosul has been relatively quiet lately, compared to the situation of a few months ago. Does anyone from the New York Times have any idea why? Michael Yon does, because he's there every day.
There's much derision among the media of so-called "pajama bloggers" but who's a pajama blogger? The mainstream media journalist sitting (in his pajamas?) in a Green Zone hotel tapping out articles on his laptop; articles compiled mainly from press releases, telephone interviews, TV soundbites and on-site "reports" from Iraqi stringers whose credentials, interview techniques and motives are largely unknown? Or the blogger, like Michael Yon, who is out in the field getting the kinds of compelling first-hand reports journalists in previous wars used to get. The traditions of legendary war reporters like Ernie Pyle live on in people like Michael Yon, not in the Green Zone "reporters".
Yon's reports from Mosul exhibit the kind of reporting and writing that used to win Pulitzers. But Yon will not win a Pulitzer because he is "just a blogger". However, readers of Michael Yon's dispatches understand more about the situation in Mosul and about the challenges our military faces than could be gathered by reading a hundred articles in the New York Times. What a shame that readers of the New York Times and other "mainstream" media have no idea who LTC Erik Kurilla is and have no understanding of his courage, compassion and intelligence and of the respect he commands from subordinates, superiors and Iraq counterparts. LTC Kurilla will probably be a 4 star General someday. Blog readers will recognize his name when that happens. Readers of the New York Times won't.
bump
From one of those speeches...I'm having trouble reading it... my screen is all blurry and I can't make it out... computer problems, perhaps...
How do you honor such heroes as Clint Gertson and Adam Plumondore? You honor them by telling the stories of their friendship, camaraderie, and fierce bravery. You honor them by continuing to fight to protect the man on your left and right who would lay down his life so that others might live. You honor them by continuing in this noble endeavor providing freedom to a people we do not know or understand the sacrifices that are made – but that is what makes America the greatest nation on earth.
Yon is former Special Forces.
That, sir, is an excellent letter.
May I presume you got no response?
I just emailed it a few minutes ago. I'll see if I get a response but I'm not holding my breath.
Ping.
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