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Description
The cool morning of Nov. 19, 2005, started too early for then-Private First Class Stephen Sanford. But nothing about an early rise to duty was unusual. The soldiers of Sanford's platoon, in their fourth month in Iraq, "sniped" at each other on the way to their tracks, teasing and jibing as they did constantly. But not an hour after starting their day's mission, things took a turn for the worse.
The call came to provide backup for Iraqi police who were engaging an enemy safe house in Mosul. Sanford's squad was the second to enter the sprawling residence, and immediately encountered fierce enemy gunfire. The initial push to assault the enemy had left the soldiers overwhelmed. The first squad to enter was pinned down and suffered a number of casualties.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Sanford's body armor absorbed several direct hits from the enemy on the drive into the building. "Resistance was fierce. Every time we'd go in, we'd put down suppressive fire and cover to exit the casualties," Sanford said.
On the second push, a burst from an enemy's weapon found its way past the private's body armor. "Before that, I didn't even feel it when I was getting shot. But when I got shot... |
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