Veteran denied VA Mortgage because of job...in legal cannabis company

update A Revere veteran’s legal marijuana job cost him a VA loan. Now, Congress is stepping in

On Friday, it passed a measure banning the VA from considering veterans’ income from state-approved cannabis industries as a reason to deny them their benefit of a low-rate home loan guarantee with no money down.

VA denies Mass. veteran home loan over his legal marijuana job

Boston Globe
By Naomi Martin Globe Staff
June 3, 2019

Veterans who work in the marijuana industry face financial consequences. Retired Army Major Tye Reedy, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, lost his military pension for working as director of operations at Acreage Holdings, one of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, according to a Barron’s report.

Parade participants march through town during the annual Memorial Day Parade in Naugatuck, Conn., on May 27.(SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES)

The couple, crammed in a tiny Revere apartment with two kids and a third on the way, had spent months searching for a house they could afford.

It wasn’t easy in Massachusetts’ pricey market. But the man, a disabled Army veteran, had one advantage — a military benefit, a loan guarantee, that would provide a low-rate mortgage with no money down.

Finally, in November, they found a yellow split-level ranch in Dracut they loved — it had a giant living room, a two-car garage, and a nice yard for the kids. The veteran filed his Army paperwork.
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Fort Bragg soldier raced to save buddy but he was too late

Fort Bragg sniper raced to check on his buddy. He broke into the house and found his best friend's body. Overcome with grief, he fired a couple of shots from his own gun at the floor. Now you know what happened a lot better than how this headline reads! *******

Sniper Who Once Held Record in Afghanistan Now Faces Gun Charges

NBC 4 News
By Julie Carey and Christian Paz
Published May 8, 2019

A soldier who once set a record for the longest sniper shot in Afghanistan by an American is now facing gun charges as part of a larger death investigation in Northern Virginia.

Deputies arrested Nicholas Ranstad in Warren County, Virginia, on May 4 after he called sheriff's deputies to a house where a man had allegedly suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to the Warran County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a house on the 200 block of Doom Peak Rd. in Linden, Virginia, where they met Ranstad and confirmed that the injured man, Sean David Miller, had died.

Deputies said Ranstad told them that he was friends with Miller, a Marine veteran, and had become concerned with his well-being, prompting him to travel from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Miller's home to check in on him.

Police said they are still investigating the circumstances of Miller's death, but News4 has learned that the Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the death a suicide.

And Miller's father wrote about his son's death in a social media post, saying Miller "has fallen to PTSD and suicide."
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Ret. Major General Eldon A. Bargewell killed in lawnmower accident

Retired Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell dies in East Alabama lawnmower accident

WRBL News
By: Samuel Sachs Chuck Williams
Posted: Apr 30, 2019

(WRBL) - Former Delta Force Commander and retired Major General Eldon A. Bargewell has died, age 72, Barbour County Coroner Chip Chapman confirmed.

Bargewell died in a lawnmower accident at his Eufaula, Ala., home on Monday.

Bargewell was pronounced dead at 9:36 p.m. CDT, following when a lawnmower rolled over an embankment behind his house on Barbour creek, said Chapman.

He was an American soldier who fought on the nation's battlefields from Vietnam to Afghanistan.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger has known Bargewell for 45 years.

"I remember in 1974 as a young Ranger in the still-forming 2d Ranger Battalion at Fort Lewis seeing and meeting quite a few legendary and highly decorated officers and non commissioned officers. Among those was Lt. Eldon Bargewell," Mellinger said. "Eldon stood out even then amongst those giants, for he had earned a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in 27 September 1971 as a Staff Sergeant while serving with Command and Control (North), Studies and Observations Group, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)."
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Sgt. Maj. Troy Black wasn't going to leave one of his Marines behind

Next Marine Sergeant Major Ran Across IED-Filled Ground to Reach Fallen Comrade

Military.com
By Gina Harkins
25 Apr 2019

"Sergeant Major Black distinguished himself through his exceptional leadership, operational input, and devotion to duty," according to the citation. "Both on the battlefield under fire and on the firm bases, he courageously set the example."

Sgt. Maj. Troy Black wasn't going to leave one of his Marines behind.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Maj Troy E. Black addresses Marines, Sailors and guests during the 1st MLG Relief and Appointment Ceremony aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., April 7, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Zabolotniy, Camp Pendleton)

When he deployed as sergeant major of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, in 2010, Black went out on more than 50 missions, covering 10,000 miles of terrain filled with improvised explosive devices. When one of those IEDs detonated, killing a Marine, Black ran several hundred yards through unswept territory to reach him.

His actions earned him a Bronze Star with Combat "V" Device. Now, he will become the 19th sergeant major of the Marine Corps.

"[Black's] boldness under fire continually imbued his Marines with confidence and a steady resolve," his Bronze Star citation states. "He consistently demonstrated a sincere dedication to his Marines and Sailors, and inspired them to overcome incredible challenges to accomplish their mission."

That set the example for more than 1,100 troops during that deployment from April to September 2010. The Marines, sailors and soldiers he helped lead were spread across three provinces and partnered with two Afghan battalions.
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Afghanistan veteran and wife on motorcycle killed by vulture

Army Veteran, Wife Killed in Crash With Vulture: Kansas Patrol

By The Associated Press
April 22, 2019

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan.—Authorities say a vulture caused a crash that killed an Army veteran and his wife as they rode a motorcycle in southern Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says the bird came out of a ditch Saturday afternoon, April 20, and struck 42-year-old Brandon Husband, of Fowler, in the head on a rural road near Medicine Lodge, about 75 miles southwest of Wichita. 

The motorcycle then went off the road, struck a barbed wire fence and overturned. The patrol says neither Husband nor his wife, 43-year-old Jennifer Lynn Husband , was wearing a helmet.

Brandon Husband’s obituary says he served one tour in Kosovo, three in Afghanistan and was part of an Iraqi soldier training mission on the Iraq-Jordan border.

The Husbands leave behind four children.
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Soldier ran long distance Boston Marathon...while serving in Afghanistan

US soldier runs Boston marathon in Afghanistan before flying home from deployment

By: WFLA/CNN Newsource
Posted: Apr 16, 2019

(WFLA/CNN Newsource) – A US soldier ran the Boston marathon this week, but he did it while serving in Afghanistan.

Joseph Fraser did the full 26.2 mile run on Sunday, admittedly with zero training ahead of time.

He was not able to shadow Monday’s actual marathon for operations and timing reasons.

Fraser said he took the challenge, among other reasons, to tell the story of how powerful positive thinking can be to get through any tough obstacle.

He’s recovering from his run by flying home from deployment.

He boarded a plane out of Afghanistan shortly after his run.
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OEF OIF Veteran killed by crane died saving co-worker

Father of four killed in crane accident at SoHo construction site

PIX 11 News
BY KRISTINE GARCIA AND CRISTIAN BENAVIDES
APRIL 13, 2019

SOHO, Manhattan — A construction worker who was a father of four and war veteran died early Saturday during a crane incident at a Manhattan construction site.

Gregory Echevarria, 34, was found unconscious and unresponsive with severe trauma to his body at a construction site in the vicinity of Varick and Broome streets around 3:15 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The construction crew, that also included Echevarria's brother, was setting up a crane counterweight when it slipped, fatally striking Echevarria, a source told PIX11.

Echevarria's final act was reportedly pushing a coworker out of the way, saving his life.

"He's selfless, that's one thing I can say," family friend Duane Davis told PIX11 Saturday outside Echevarria's childhood home in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

"The best father, son, everything," family member Judi Cruz said of Echevarria.

Family told PIX11 that Echevarria was a father of four, including a three-month-old, and that he was a veteran. Echevarria did four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan over 10 years, according to family members, who are devastated that his baby boy is left without a father.
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Iowa Mom shocked kids at school

Central Iowa mom surprises children following 10-month deployment to Afghanistan

ABC 9 News

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Captain Keri Pender, of the Iowa National Guard, pulled a fast one on her three children Thursday in West Des Moines. She surprised her three children at their schools following a ten-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Before she left the United States, Pender, who has served with the Iowa National Guard for eight years, told her kids Caleb, a sixth grader; Devin, an eighth grader; and Bailey, a tenth grader, that she was going to be deployed longer than expected. go here for more

Volunteer Firefighter Marine Killed in Afghanistan

update Charity will pay mortgage for family of fallen FNY firefighter

FDNY firefighter from the Bronx killed in Afghanistan suicide attack

By Derick Waller
April 9, 2018

CLAREMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- One of four Americans killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan was an FDNY firefighter.

It is a devastating reminder that this 18-year-long war continues despite recent peace talks.

Christopher Slutman was identified by the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Landover, Maryland, where he is a lifetime member.

Slutman, a married father of three, was a 15-year veteran of the FDNY. He most recently worked as a firefighter at Engine 46 Ladder 27 in the Claremont section of the Bronx.

In 2014, he received the FDNY's Fire Chiefs Association Memorial Medal for pulling an unconscious woman from a burning Bronx high-rise apartment.

He served as a Staff Sergeant with the United States Marine Corps.
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Remembering Specialist Ashley Shelton

UPDATE to story of Ashley Shelton, the soldier who delivered baby in latrine while serving in Afghanistan

Remembering Specialist Ashley Shelton, the soldier who gave birth in combat

WTHR NBC 13 News
SANDRA CHAPMAN
PUBLISHED: APR 5TH, 2019

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WTHR) — Specialist Ashley Shelton is being laid to rest today in Frankfort, Indiana.

She was found unresponsive on Saturday, March 30 outside a Frankfort motel where she was to meet her mother and son to go swimming. Shelton was just 27 years old.

The Clinton County Coroner is awaiting additional autopsy results to rule on the cause of death but tells 13 Investigates there is no suspicion and no foul play.

13 Investigates has heard from Shelton's military friends who wanted a place to share their thoughts about their former comrade and friend, so Eyewitness News put this page together as a place to remember Spc. Shelton.

But first, a text message that Shelton sent to 13 Investigates Reporter Sandra Chapman.

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Wounded Georgia Police Officer served in Afghanistan and Iraq

Police identify victims, suspected shooter in Henry County standoff leaving 3 dead

By FOX 5 News
Posted Apr 04 2019

A man identifying himself as the father-in-law of one of the injured officers just after arriving by police escort to Grady Memorial Hospital described that officer to FOX 5's Will Nunley as being a 32-year-old Army veteran. He called the situation tragic.

"Army veteran, two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he's been on the force for a while. It's just a terrible tragedy," said Rick Corssey, a family member of the injured officer. 

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Henry County Police will release more information late Friday morning on a nearly 16 hour- standoff inside a home that left a pregnant woman and her teenage son dead and 2 police officers wounded, apparently at the hands of the woman’s live-in boyfriend who took his own life.

Police identified the victims as 39-year-old Sandra Renee White of Stockbridge and her son, 16-year-old Arkeyvion White.
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U.S. Army's 75th Ranger will receive Bronze and Silver Star in same deployment

Air Force Operator to Receive Silver, Bronze Star for Same Deployment

Military.com
By Oriana Pawlyk
3 Apr 2019

The U.S. Air Force will award a special tactics airman two medals for valor for separate missions in Afghanistan in which he risked his life to save others.

Tech. Sgt. Cam Kelsch, a tactical air control party operator assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing. (U.S. Air Force)

Tech. Sgt. Cam Kelsch, a tactical air control party operator assigned to the 17th Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing, will receive the Silver Star and Bronze Star with "V" device in a ceremony at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Georgia, on April 9, Air Force Special Operations Command announced Tuesday.

Kelsch, 29, from Ventura, California, exposed himself to direct enemy fire while accompanying members of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment during a night raid on April 25, 2018, in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel/Resolute Support in Afghanistan. The team was reportedly sent out to neutralize a high-value target, but the service did not disclose where the raid took place, or how long the battle lasted
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Unaccounted casualties: Veterans After Wars

Unaccounted casualties: The suicide rate of young veterans far outstrips the general population

Sun Coast Today
By Michael Bonner
Posted Mar 30, 2019

A knock on the door interrupted Brandon Cardoza. Standing outside of his second floor Chestnut Hall freshman dorm room was Luke Carreiro.

“This wasn’t ordinary for him,” Cardoza said. “When he showed up, I was concerned. He wanted to come in. I said ‘Let’s have a conversation.’”

Cardoza discarded his books, brushed aside his homework and sat on his bed. Sitting at Cardoza’s desk, Carreiro informed one of his best friends he was unhappy in college. He wanted more. He wanted to enlist in the military.

“I wanted to be a supportive friend,” Cardoza said. “I was just hoping he would stay. Because we had grown up together for five years. It’s selfish I understand, but, with the stories coming out overseas, I didn’t want to lose my good friend.”

Cardoza’s premonition became a reality. Carreiro died, not in Iraq, where he served a tour of duty, but because of Iraq.

On December 2, 2015, Carreiro, at the age of 26, took his own life on a military site in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

“Once I heard it was suicide, I instantly snapped back to that conversation in my dorm room,” Cardoza said.

The details of Carreiro’s story may be unique, however, the ending is not.

Carreiro was one of more than 72,000 veterans who committed suicide from 2005 to 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The suicide rate among veterans ages 18-34, which Carreiro fell into, is 45 per 100,000, much higher than the rate of non-veterans, which is less than 30, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Younger veterans experience a higher rate of suicide, however, older veterans, ages 55-75 experience the highest number of suicides.

“This story, (Luke’s story), it happens so much,” Veteran and activist Chris Azevedo said. “And this is the problem.”read more here

Soldiers killed in Afghanistan Identified

Pentagon identifies U.S. Soldiers killed in Afghanistan

By: CNN Newsource
Posted: Mar 24, 2019

TAMPA (WFLA/CNN) - The Pentagon has identified two U.S. soldiers killed Friday in Afghanistan. 

They are 33-year-old Sergeant First Class Will Lindsay of Colorado and 29-year-old Specialist Joseph Collette of Ohio.

Two defense officials tell CNN the service members died during a partnered U.S-Afghan Military operation.

The officials added that initial indications are that they were killed during a fight with the Taliban. Afghan troops were also killed in the incident.

This marks the third and fourth U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan this year.
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Heroic Travis Air Base Airman saved lives in California

Reserve Citizen Airman’s quick action saves lives

Air Force Reserve Command
By Staff Sgt. Daniel Phelps
349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
Published March 05, 2019

Staff Sgt. Emily Johnson, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron admin assistant, poses for a photo at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on March 4, 2019. In January, Johnson helped save lives in a multiple car crash on Interstate 80 near Fairfield, Calif. during rush hour. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Phelps)

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.
It was just another day for Staff Sgt. Emily Johnson, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron administrative assistant. She had finished up work at Travis Air Force Base, California, assisting members of the 349th Air Mobility Wing with travel voucher issues. After a change of clothes, she was on her way to class in Vallejo, where she was taking classes to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.

As she drove down I-80 during its treacherous rush hour, the truck in front of her changed lanes revealing a 65-mile-per-hour collision course with a stopped car.

“The vehicle just casually merged over,” she said. “So, I didn’t think anything of it. Then all of a sudden, there was a stalled car in front of me. I slammed on my breaks, going 65. I had maybe 30 feet to stop.”

Johnson sat there for a moment in the carpool lane to process as cars zoomed around her.

“I sat there in my car and looked behind me,” she said. “I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to get hit, I’m going to get hit.’ I couldn’t stay there. I needed to get over.”

She quickly cut around the car, parked about 20 feet in front of it, and turned on her hazard lights. Once settled, she called 911 and told dispatch there was going to be an accident on the highway. Johnson then rushed to the driver in the stalled car, an elderly woman.

“I told her, ‘Get out of your car, get out of your car. You’re going to get hit. You’re not going to live,” Johnson described.

The Reserve Citizen Airman escorted the driver to her car and placed her in the passenger seat. As Johnson was about to leave the highway to get to a safe location, a crash was heard as two cars plowed into the back of the stalled car.

“As soon as I heard the hit, I told the woman to stay in my car,” Johnson described. “I jumped out of my car and ran back to check on the other drivers.”

And then a truck came. The two drivers who had hit the stalled car had gotten out of their cars to inspect the damage. When the truck came, it didn’t merge into the other lane where traffic was, it went towards the divide.

“I don’t think he had time to stop,” Johnson said.

The truck hit the two cars and struck the drivers who were out inspecting the damage.

“Literally, this all happened in less than a minute,” Johnson said. “I heard the initial crash, and by the time I got out to check, the truck had hit. Immediately, I started looking for people.”

She rushed to the first car, the air bag had gone off, the door was open, and there was no one to be seen. She went to the next one and the door was bent back the opposite way, and still no one.

“I thought, ‘Where are these people?’” she said.

She looked on the other side of the concrete divider, where oncoming traffic was, and there was a man standing in the middle of the highway. His pants were tattered and he was bleeding from his legs and face. He said he flew over the barrier when the truck hit him.

“My first thought was, ‘How are you alive? How are you conscious? How have you not been hit by another car?” Johnson said.
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Travis Mills, finalist for Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honor Award

Travis Mills of Maine a finalist for national award honoring courage and sacrifice

Press Herald
STAFF REPORT
March 7, 2019

Mills, a combat-wounded veteran and quadruple amputee, established a foundation and opened a retreat center for veterans in Maine.

Travis Mills has been selected as a finalist for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honor Award, according to 1st District U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine.

Pingree in a statement Thursday said that Mills was one of 20 finalists for the award. Four citizens will be selected to receive the citizens’ honor from living Medal of Honor recipients.

Retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills. Photo by Elise Klysa

“To be selected as a finalist for this national award is a great honor in itself and a fitting one for a veteran who has inspired so many,” Pingree said. 

“Travis Mills’ hard-fought physical recovery after being critically injured by an IED in Afghanistan demonstrates a resilience and inner strength we can learn from.”
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Staff Sgt. Steven McQueen gets to keep helmet that save his life

Soldier Gets Back Battered Helmet That Saved His Life During Insider Attack

Military.com
By Matthew Cox
4 Mar 2019

"I was surprised that I was able to react [as] quickly as I did because I knew what had happened instantly; I knew I was shot," McQueen, 30, told reporters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Monday.

Staff Sgt. Steven McQueen, and his wife Aaron, with a plaque featuring a portion of the Enhanced Combat Helmet that saved his life during an insider attack in Afghanistan last year. (Military.com/Matthew Cox)

Staff Sgt. Steven McQueen still can't believe how quickly he got to his feet after a bullet from an enemy rifle struck him in the back of his helmet during an insider attack in Afghanistan last year.

Two gunmen opened fire on McQueen and fellow soldiers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade from a distance of 20 feet during the Sept. 3 shooting.

"I was surprised that I was able to react [as] quickly as I did because I knew what had happened instantly; I knew I was shot," McQueen, 30, told reporters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on Monday.

The bullet tore a large hole in the ballistic material, but the Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) stopped the round as it was designed to do.
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Army veteran committed suicide after "sextortion" scam by prison inmates

update

South Carolina Inmates Charged With Extorting Veteran Before He Took His Own Life "Using contraband cellphones, the inmates, John William Dobbins and Carl Richard Smith, allegedly posed as the parents of a fictional teenage girl they claimed had sent Army veteran Jared Johns explicit photos."

'Sextortion' by inmates targeted Greenville veteran just before his suicide, parents say

The Greenville News
Kirk Brown,
Feb. 25, 2019

The person identified as Harris responded that his wife "is going to the police and you are going to jail."

Within minutes of that exchange, according to Greenville County Senior Deputy Coroner Kent Dill, Johns died from a self-inflicted gunshot. Bowling said data from her son's Apple Watch shows that his heart stopped beating at 12:03 p.m.

Army veteran Jared Johns was the target of a "sextortion" scam by prison inmates in the hours before he killed himself in Greenville on Sept. 11, 2018, according to his parents. They shared records with The Greenville News that appear to corroborate extortion attempts through text messages.

Kathy Bowling and Kevin Johns believe that inmates at Lee Correctional Institution tried to bilk their son out of $1,189 while posing as the parents of a 17-year-old girl who purportedly sent him illicit photos.

Jared Johns, 24, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan, and the condition left him unable to cope with the threats that he received in the moments leading to his suicide, his parents said.

"I feel like they're the ones who shot him," Kevin Johns said.

"My son should still be alive," Bowling said.
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He joined the military, then police force, and then homeless in the UK?

How DID this war hero police officer end up sleeping rough on the street?: Shocking story that shows why – one year on – the helpline we fought for is needed more than ever

Daily Mail
By IAN GALLAGHER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
23 February 2019

Virtually penniless and unable to draw his pension, he slept rough last month, still with his warrant card in his back pocket. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, during which he repeatedly broke down, he spoke bitterly of abandonment, his belief that his Army and police careers had effectively been ‘for nothing’ and how his life had no horizons greater than finding his next hot meal.

Britain's first homeless policeman, 46, is a former Iraq and Afghanistan veteran
He decided to change careers after the Afghanistan War and joined the Met
The unnamed man was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2017
He has received no support while on indefinite sick leave from the police force

A Metropolitan Police officer, and veteran, has been sleeping rough in a Home Counties town

Having risked his life for his country at home and abroad for two decades, he might be forgiven for expecting recognition for exemplary service.

First he spent 12 years with the Royal Engineers, leading a specialist bomb disposal team on perilous missions in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tiring of Army life but determined to put his experience to good use, he then joined the Metropolitan Police, proving a brave and effective frontline officer.

Yet instead of laurels, this dedicated public servant has, ten years on, achieved an altogether different distinction. Like so many who put their lives on the line to keep others safe, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2017.

Emotionally adrift, his marriage failed – ‘I became impossible to live with’ – and then his life fell apart as his condition worsened.

Shamefully, the state averted its eyes. On sick leave ever since, he remains in theory a serving officer because the Met appears – inexplicably – to have forgotten him, or rather, in the words of the voluntary group fighting his case, allowed him to ‘fall through the cracks’.
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Medevac crew refused to give up on saving Army Ranger

Medevac crew receives valor awards following harrowing rescue mission

STARS AND STRIPES
By CHAD GARLAND
Published: January 11, 2019

Under fire and carrying a badly wounded patient, the Black Hawk helicopter was just lifting off an Afghan battlefield when the crew chief saw an Army Ranger in the landing zone get shot and drop to the ground.

The Black Hawk darted back to evacuate the fallen Ranger.

From left: Sgt. Armando Yanez; Spc. Emmanuel Bynum; Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Six; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Cole; and Capt. Benjamin Krzeczowski 101ST CAB, WINGS OF DESTINY/FACEBOOK

Spc. Emmanuel Bynum, thinking quickly, directed the pilot to make an emergency landing on a dusty patch masked from most enemy fire. They still took fire — in all, about two dozen rounds to the helicopter, which would become nearly unflyable.

After the wounded Ranger was loaded, the Black Hawk lifted off. But there was more danger to come as they flew from Paktia province toward a base in Logar province dozens of miles to the north.

For their courage during the July operation, Bynum and four other aircrew members received the Distinguished Flying Cross with valor during a Jan. 5 ceremony officiated by Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Each of the five “completely disregarded his own safety” and refused to leave Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz and an unnamed casualty on the battlefield, award citations said.
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