Via Blackfive comes this amazing story of two marines who refused to yield their ground in the face of certain death, and as a result saved at least 50 people in an act that has earned them nominations for the Navy Cross from Major General John Kelly himself:
While Iraqi police fled, Haerter and Yale had never flinched and never stopped firing as the Mercedes truck — the same model used in the Beirut bombing — sped directly toward them.
Without their steadfastness, the truck would probably have penetrated the compound before it exploded, and 50 or more Marines and Iraqis would have been killed. The incident happened in just six seconds.
“No time to talk it over; no time to call the lieutenant; no time to think about their own lives or even the American and Iraqi lives they were protecting,” Kelly said. “More than enough time, however, to do their duty. They never hesitated or tried to escape.”
With a truck loaded full of over a ton of explosives barreled toward them, the marines never hesitated, never stopped firing. Never once thought of themselves.
Better men than I. God rest their souls.