Posted on 06/05/2009 3:28:54 AM PDT by csvset
Blinded by a dust storm kicked up by helicopter rotor wash and grenade explosions, all Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay could see was shadowy figures scurrying about in the dim light, grabbing weapons. // In the ensuing firefight inside a remote rural compound in Samarra, Iraq, Lindsay was seriously wounded. But he and his fellow Army Green Berets kept firing.
When it was over, 11 insurgents were dead - including the target of the predawn raid, a man described by the Army as a high-value terrorist who had been financing weapons and roadside bombs with profits from a kidnapping and extortion ring.
Last month, in recognition of his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in the Sept. 10, 2007, firefight, Lindsay, a 1997 graduate of Gates County High School in North Carolina, was awarded the Silver Star, the Army's third-highest medal for valor.
Recalling the incident in a telephone interview from Fort Carson, Colo., Lindsay described a frantic scene as the Iraqi insurgents, alerted by the helicopter landing just 20 feet from the compound, scrambled to fend off the attacking force of 10 U.S. soldiers and 20 Iraqi national police officers.
First there was a burst of AK-47 fire that hit Lindsay in the throat and stomach. Then a grenade went off, sending Lindsay and another soldier flying back out the doorway.
"At that point we were just kind of out there in no man's land," Lindsay said. "The firefight was still going on inside. The bullets were flying over my head, going back and forth."
Struggling to stay conscious, Lindsay couldn't muster the strength to get up or even to lift his rifle.
"So I took out my pistol and started shooting," he said. "I wanted to let 'em know I had some fight left."
When the guns finally fell silent, Lindsay, 30, was airlifted to a field hospital in Iraq. He subsequently had weeks of treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
A two-foot section of his intestine was removed. He still has a bullet in his abdomen that doctors deemed too risky to take out.
Since then he has been back to Iraq for another tour of duty, his third of the war.
Two other soldiers from his unit, the 10th Special Forces Group, also received medals for their roles in the 2007 raid.
For Lindsay, there was excitement on the home front last month as well. His wife gave birth to twin daughters, the couple's first children.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
and where was Obama? WWOD?
Obambi would whine about the murder of an abortionist while ignoring the injuries or death of a US soldier.
Finally! Some GOOD news to start the day.
I wish all of them well as they recover from their various combat wounds: whether major, minor, external or internal.
Go and play a round of golf.
What a hero! I hate shedding tears this early in the morning.
My nephew(Sophomore) is enrolled at the Citadel(The Military College of South Carolina), reports for jump school today(Fort Benning,GA). He wants to be a Green Beret.
The boy has been doing a SEAL workout since he was 14.
His mom blames me for his chosen profession.
Thanks for reminding us that real men do still exist in America.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael D. Lindsay, Capt. Matthew A. Chaney, and Staff Sgt. Jarion Halbison-Gibbs
Well done, men. Thank you for your service.
He will do things for sure; make you proud and scare the piss out of you.
God bless Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay, his fellow green berets and all the men and women who serve our Nation.
The picture of these three says it all.
Zero doesn't have a passing acquaintance with what being a real man means. Truly sad for our nation.
If your nephew was a letcherous smartass I could see your sister blaming you, but... ;^) Just kidding - congrats -
Our son was a GB in Afghanistan and captured one of the guys in Gitmo with a raid like this. Fortunately, they overwhelmed the compound before the target could get awake.
He doesn’t want to see the guy turned loose..
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