Wednesday, April 6, 2011

An Angel On His Shoulder...?


I'll just bet that if you ask this marine, he will say "Hell, yeah"!

I don't blame him at all! I would certainly feel that way, if it were me. These guys know from the get-go that they face death at every turn, but when something like this happens, they don't question it or blow it off. They accept it as a gift from above, say a heartfelt "Thank you" and make the best of the rest of their life!

God Bless The Troops!

Marine Sgt. Takes Sniper Round To The Head; Smokes A Cigarette 15 Minutes Later

Posted by Peter Schweizer Apr 5th 2011 at 9:06 am in Afghanistan

Remarkable. That’s the only word for this story. His buddies have now nick-named him “Headshot.” From the Marine Corps Times:



“Manning the top of a compound south of Sangin, Afghanistan, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd III took a sniper round to the head. He landed face down onto the muddy roof with a thud.

Fifteen minutes later, Boothroyd was bandaged, smiling, smoking a cigarette and giving the “thumbs up” as he waited for the medevac helicopter, to which he walked under his own power.

It’s a “you-gotta-be-kidding-me” story that earned Boothroyd, a signals intelligence operator with 2nd Radio Battalion, a new call sign from his team members: Headshot.

“It was a one-in-a-million shot that the sniper was even able to hit me,” he said in an interview with Marine Corps Times, “and a one-in-a-million chance that the bullet didn’t destroy my brain. It wasn’t my time.”

Early March 4 in Helmand province, Boothroyd, attached to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was on a rooftop providing over-watch for a local security patrol. It was his first deployment. Insurgents opened fire, “and I got hit by the first bullet,” he said.

The bullet pierced his helmet. The Kevlar caught and turned the round, he said, “so instead of going in and thrashing my skull,” it entered through the neck and lodged itself above and behind his right ear.

“It was like being hit by a train,” he recalled. “I remember what I was doing. I remember being hit, then I was face down in the mud on top of the building. I really wasn’t terribly concerned because I could hear bullets whipping above me, but I still had the presence of mind not to stand up. I thought, ‘Well, I don’t have any brain damage, at least at this point.’ ”

You can read the whole account here.

I'm extremely happy for this young warrior and his family, but saddened by the fact that so many of our young men and women are being put in harm's way daily! In my opinion, it's time to end this waste of life...and bring the troops home! But, of course, that's just my opinion!

How about coffee on the patio? We can toast to young Sgt. Boothroyd...! OK?

7 comments:

chinasyndrome said...

Wow,now thats awesome.And he gets a cool nickname Headshot!Very lucky man.

China
III

Anonymous said...

Buy that man a beer and let him buy any lottery ticket he wants. Lucky guy!!
YeOldFurt

Ben in Texas said...

Just wasn't his time. God must have something yet of him to do ..
Sadly , now watch and see how many people jump on him for smoking!!

Momlady said...

Time to bring all our people home and let the "enemy" kill each other off. We need to take care of us.

JoJo said...

What a great ending for this kid. But yes its time to bring our people home this is nothing but madness. These people are born to hate each other and everyone else.

Pass the pot please we are going to have more nasty wind today.

HermitJim said...

Hey China...
Just one of the very lucky days that this young man will have, I hope!

What a great story to go with his new nickname!

Thanks, my friend, for coming by today!


Hey YOF...
Gonna make a great story for the grandkids, that's for sure!

You just have to love this guys attitude, ya know?

Thanks for dropping in today, buddy!


Hey Ben...
Like you said...just wasn't his time! Even the Sgt. says that himself!

Right you are about folks jumping him about the smoking! Always someone around to do that!

I appreciate you coming by today!


Hey Momlady...
I totally agree with you on that! 100%...!

You have a great day, and thanks for coming by today!


Hey JoJo...
I think that it's time to bring them home! It's all political anyway!

We can't fix it. Been broken long before we came along!

Thanks, sweetie, for coming by today!

Judy said...

You are not the only one to think we need our children brought back home. What the Government is doing is unconstitutional as well as unconscionable.

Do you have a cup of hot water for tea?