Posted on 04/16/2013 5:33:09 PM PDT by Gamecock
At 5:20 a.m. on Monday, four hours before the Boston Marathon's elite runners took off, a group of 15 active-duty soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard gathered at the starting line in Hopkinton. Each soldier was in full combat uniform and carried a "ruck," a military backpack weighing about 40 pounds. The rucks were filled with Camelbacks of water, extra uniforms, Gatorade, changes of socks—and first-aid and trauma kits. It was all just supposed to be symbolic.
"Forced marches" or "humps" are a regular part of military training, brisk walking over tough terrain while carrying gear that could help a soldier survive if stranded alone. These soldiers, participating in "Tough Ruck 2013," were doing the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon to honor comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, or lost to suicide and PTSD-related accidents after coming home.
It took about eight hours for all of the soldiers to cross the finish line, some cruising nearly at a 13-minute mile, others coming in at a little slower pace. They were gathered near the medical tent behind the finish line, waiting for the elite runners to come in. That was the contingency plan in case anything went wrong—meet by the medical tent.
"You never think you're gonna need it, but you always have to have a contingency plan," says Lieutenant Stephen Fiola of the 1060th Transportation Company, who worked with the Military Friends Foundation to organize the march. Two soldiers stationed in Afghanistan also participated in the ruck from afar, according to Fiola, marching in circles around their base for 26 miles in remembrance of fallen comrades.
One soldier in the Boston group walked the marathon in honor of Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, who was 20 years old when he died in action in Iraq in 2004. Arredondo's father, Carlos, was waiting at the finish line to greet the ruckers, wearing a cowboy hat and a Tough Ruck T-shirt, and carrying pictures of his two deceased sons, the second of whom succumbed to depression and suicide after his brother was killed. Fiola was also there, handing Arredondo a bunch of small American flags to pass out to the crowd of spectators in the bleachers. "Everyone was so happy," says Fiola. "People were cheering, there was music playing, it was almost a surreal experience. A beautiful day."
When the explosion went off, Fiola and his group immediately went into tactical mode. "I did a count and told the younger soldiers to stay put," Fiola says. "Myself and two other soldiers, my top two guys in my normal unit, crossed the street about 100 yards to the metal scaffoldings holding up the row of flags. We just absolutely annihilated the fence and pulled it back so we could see the victims underneath. The doctors and nurses from the medical tent were on the scene in under a minute. We were pulling burning debris off of people so that the medical personnel could get to them and begin triage."
Once the victims were transported away for further medical care, Fiola and the others stood guard around the blast area. "We switched to keeping the scene safe, quarantining the area and preventing people from entering. There was a guy behind me covered, just covered, in his own blood, and I started to smell some smoke. I turn around to look and he's actually on fire, from a piece of whatever caused the explosion. I saw the smoke coming from his pocket so I reached in and pulled it out. It was his handkerchief, on fire."
Fiola saw Carlos Arredondo in the distance, assisting more victims. One of Monday's most harrowing images shows Arredondo, with his cowboy hat and long dark hair, and two others frantically wheeling a young man who appeared to have lost parts of both his legs.
In a video shot by a bystander moments later, Arredondo trembles visibly and grips one of the American flags Fiola had handed to him, now drenched in blood, and explains what he saw and did after the explosions. The right sleeve of his Tough Ruck T-shirt is crimson up to the elbow.
That other one above sounded like total BS tho .. never *ever* recalled hearing/reading about any such thing from our side .. too bad God doesn't have a wiki asst. to scrub the FUD and ZOT the posters thereof.
Thanks y'all
I highly doubt that it was GOE, but more than likely some of the assorted other nuts and fruitcakes from the “peaceful” anti-war side.
Rugged and heroic guys.
I couldn’t have carried a forty pound ruck twenty-six miles in a week. Not even with a wheelbarrow.
“God Bless the military! They WERE prepared!”
In some of the videos it shows some of the cops reacting slowly to the unfolding event, while these soldiers were going right after it. Then some of the cops start jumping over the barricades and helping out. But an amazing number of cops still just standing around watching. The training that the military goes through sure does prepare them.
Wow. There's hope yet.
I bow to your joint wisdom and knowledge. Soldier's Medal sounds great to me...
Per Army Regulation 600-8-22, para 3-13 “The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions not involving conflict with an armed enemy. Awards will not be made solely on the basis of having saved a life.”
I would say they went into a dangerous situation. No one knew if there were any other bombs in place. They took action on their own accord.
It would take me a couple days to put the correct verbage in place, but I am certain could get it written up and approved.
Don't forget to click on the link and read the comments.
Ruben Rosario: Hero amid Boston terror knows ‘the pain caused by war’
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_23047175/ruben-rosario-hero-amid-boston-terror-knows-pain
he’s had more than his share of pain and misery
That explains the picture of the guys in military uniform pulling the fence down. I was wondering why they were there
Last May, hubby, kid, the dog, and I were involved in a serious car accident. I-91 north, just about Hartford CT, some old woman in a BMW SUV didn’t look when she was changing lanes and the tractor-trailer behind her had to swerve into the left lane where our car was. Pushed our car right off the road, then the SUV hit us head on. Must have been a military unit on the highway at the same time because almost as soon as the car came to a stop, a man in military uniform came running up to our car to check if we were injured.
Made me realize how lucky we are to have people like that in our country!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.