This is my personal view and comments on the issues and events that I feel a need to talk about or express my view. You don't have to agree, but lets carry on a adult, discussion and maybe you will see it the right way, mine. ;)
REAL HEROS are guys like this...
Published on May 18, 2006 By ShadowWar In War on Terror

  

This guy is the kind of person who should make every American realize this is why we have the finest fighting force in the world. And no matter what you throw at them/us we will never give up, or leave a fellow solider behind. I want you to notice the second to last paragraph of this story. We have a volunteer military, and yet even though you are told we are losing the war in Iraq, we are not stopping the violence, we are seeing record re-enlistments happening. Wonder why? Becuase these fine men and women believe in what they see every day and what they are doing. While you sit there in your comfortable office or home and read this, remember there are those out there, like Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal, who believe in what they are doing.

Wounded Marine in Iconic Fallujah Photo Awarded Navy Cross

Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification #: 200653191254
Story by Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Floto


MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal feels he did what any good Marine would’ve done.

That includes taking enemy rifle fire on Nov. 14, 2004, absorbing a grenade blast and refusing medical attention inside Fallujah’s “House of Hell” during Operation Al Fajr (New Dawn).

For his extraordinary heroism and leadership in Fallujah, Iraq, as the Weapons Company first sergeant for 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Kasal was awarded the Navy Cross during a ceremony here Monday.

“The word hero is tossed around pretty loosely these days,” said Maj. Gen. Michael R. Lehnert, Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations West, after awarding Kasal with the Naval service’s second-highest decoration, in front of an audience that included the 1st Marine Division’s past and present commanding generals, Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis and Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, respectively.

”Some may call a basketball player a hero for scoring the winning goal or a celebrity for donating a small portion of their earnings to a good cause, but Kasal is a true American hero.”

When then-1st Sgt. Kasal assisted one of his platoons with an over watch inside Fallujah that day, intense gunfire broke out in an Iraqi home to his immediate front.

Seconds later, Marines were rapidly exiting the building, known as the “House of Hell.” “That house was a death trap,” said Maj. Gen. Lehnert.

“It was set up for one purpose: to kill United States Marines.” Kasal could have easily stayed out of the house.”

When he found out that there were Marines still pinned down inside the infamous house, nothing the insurgents could put on the table would stop him from rescuing his Marines.

“Going in for them was the right thing to do,” said Kasal, 39, who hails from Afton, Iowa. “They’re Marines, and I’m a Marine. We look out for each other.”

Upon entry of the house, Kasal found himself face-to-face with an insurgent who he neutralized at extreme close range. Shortly afterwards, AK-47 gunfire was coming from all directions, and Kasal was hit from behind.

“While I was in that house, I made three life or death decisions,” Kasal said. “I never thought I would live through any of them, but I did what I did to help the other Marines.”

The first decision Kasal made was to expose himself to enemy fire in order to pull another wounded Marine out of the line of fire. Kasal took more enemy fire doing this.

While both Marines were under cover, they assessed their wounds. Both had multiple injuries, but there were only enough bandages for one of them to live.

Kasal made his second decision to forfeit his medical supplies to the other Marine.

“It made more sense to use all of the bandages on one of us then to split the supplies and have us both bleed to death,” Kasal said.

The insurgents deployed a hand grenade to get the Marines out of cover, and it landed within a few feet of the two bleeding Marines.

Kasal then decided to use his own severely wounded body to protect the Marine from shrapnel.

By the time he was carried out of the house by Lance Cpl. Chris Marquez and Lance Cpl. Dan Shaffer as Lucian M. Reed, an Associated Press photographer snapped the iconic photo displayed at Marine Corps installations all over the globe, Kasal had lost approximately 60 percent of his blood from more than 40 shrapnel wounds and seven 7.62 mm AK-47 gunshots.

One day prior to being awarded the Navy Cross Kasal’s father passed away.

However, a live video teleconference feed to Kasal’s hometown provided his mother, family members and friends an opportunity to watch him receive the Navy Cross, be promoted to the rank of sergeant major and reenlist for three years.

“It’s been a very emotional week,” Kasal said. “I am blessed to recover from my injuries, which the doctors thought would never happen, and regain my place in the Marine Corps. I would take the pain of surgeries any day over the pain of being away from my Marines.”

 


Comments (Page 1)
2 Pages1 2 
on May 18, 2006
You are right.  Real heros are ones like Sargent Major Bradley Kasal.
on May 18, 2006
I say we throw a JU hero parade!

I salute You Sargent!
on May 18, 2006
Hero: a man/woman distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength.


Link

I don't see how a basketball player, a football player, an actor/actris or even a singer can possibly be considered a hero unless they did a selfless act.

It's a shame that people will stand in line for hours and pay outrageous prices to see a celebrity that doesn't really care for them, that would not give them 5 minute if they bumped into them in the mall, that feel they are above everyone else, that believe that money is everything (though in most cases it is) while people like Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal can walk down a street and not even his own neighbors would know the lives he saved, the near death situations he's been thru or the struggle his family might have gone thru unless they were actually told about it, all for their freedom.

When will we ever see a Nike sneakers with the name or face of a real hero who gave his life to save another or fought the enemy to save someones life. When will we see singers and rappers make songs about real heros. When will we see a Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal in a Gatoraid, Wheeties, Reebok, Bubbleyum or Coca Cola commericial. When will those in the police force, fire fighter brigades, paramedics and the average person who puts their lives on the line everyday to help others be on the walls of kids rooms, on T-shirts, screensavers, wallpapers, music videos, TV commercials, store advertisements.

While we glorify those who only entertain us, we ignore those who fight so that we have the freedom to be entertained, those who catch criminals that can take away our entertainment, those who fight fires that burn our entertainment, those who save our lives so that we can live to be entertained.

This is how I feel.
on May 18, 2006
That guy is badass. We need whole platoons like him.
on May 18, 2006

You know I thought this story was familure. Here is what I wrote ack when it actually happened, and a photo of him being helped out of the house.

 

A Real American Hero

This is a true Warrior


By ShadowWar
Posted Tuesday, February 15, 2005 on One Americans view....like it or not..
Discussion: Current Events

Thought that you may want to take a look at a TRUE Hero... The Picture is a little bloody so don't look close if you have a weak stomach... STILL A HONEST TO GOD LIVING HERO

Marine 1st Sergeant Brad Kasal (in the middle). This photo is from the most recent major offensive in Fallujah. Sgt. Kasal sacrificed his own safety to save a room full of fellow Marines. He ended up taking several AK rounds in the leg. Most of his lower leg was blown away but you can't tell it from this picture. He took rounds in the back which his armor saved him from. He took one round through his butt which passed through both cheeks leaving 4 holes in him. And he also took the brunt of a grenade blast. He jumped on top of a younger Marine to cover him from the fire.
He killed the terrorist who did most of the damage to him and his men, and despite a massive loss of blood he never stopped fighting. Notice that he's still holding his pistol. He has been put in for the Medal of Honor for his actions on that day. He already has several Purple Hearts for previous battles throughout his career and he has turned some down so that he could stay with his unit. While in the hospital he has met President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and several other celebrities. He said that Bush came in by himself and had a very long, sincere, and friendly visit with him.


 

Hooooahahhhhhh! I would fight along side him anytime. I love the fact he is still holding his handgun and ready to fight, even while being helped out of the house.

on May 18, 2006

When will we ever see a Nike sneakers with the name or face of a real hero who gave his life to save another or fought the enemy to save someones life. When will we see singers and rappers make songs about real heros. When will we see a Sgt. Maj. Bradley A. Kasal in a Gatoraid, Wheeties, Reebok, Bubbleyum or Coca Cola commericial. When will those in the police force, fire fighter brigades, paramedics and the average person who puts their lives on the line everyday to help others be on the walls of kids rooms, on T-shirts, screensavers, wallpapers, music videos, TV commercials, store advertisements.

While we glorify those who only entertain us, we ignore those who fight so that we have the freedom to be entertained, those who catch criminals that can take away our entertainment, those who fight fires that burn our entertainment, those who save our lives so that we can live to be entertained.

This is how I feel.

Charles your idea hit me with such force, I looked up NIKE and found out who their advertising company was, and sent them your idea. Lets see what I get back.

Here is was  wrote, mabe more people should drop them a line?

Here is the e-mailof the guy that it shoudl go too: 'buz.sawyer@wk.com'

Good Afternoon Buz,

 I was wrote and article for my blog and then upon checking back later found a comment that started me thinking. And it directed me to Nike! That in turn brought me to your company as their advertising Co.

I wrote a piece on a Real Hero over in Iraq. A solider that literally faced life and death and came out on the life side and was awarded the Navy Cross for Heroism, I then started thinking about another article I wrote about a young Army Soldier that was awarded the Bronze Start for heroism in the face of the enemy (a student of mine, and now police officer). You will find links to these articles at the bottom of this e-mail.

 Anyway one of the comments a reader made was about how you never see “real” hero’s ever being used by companies like Nike or such for their adds. That’s when it dawned on me, what a great idea for an advertising promotion for Nike. Do spots on “real” hero’s and the famous Nike motto could be modified to fit it, instead of “Just do it!” it could be “They just DID it!” or “Just do it! They did..” What a great piece that would be, visual, emotional, patriotic and spirit lifting, all something a good advertising program should have.

 Well I thought I would just toss it at you and let you play with it.

 What do you think? Does it stand a chance? I would think it would be a promotional coup for NIKE. Americans would love to see Real American Heros and NIKE would get good press and air time.  

on May 18, 2006
What do you think? Does it stand a chance? I would think it would be a promotional coup for NIKE. Americans would love to see Real American Heros and NIKE would get good press and air time.


I would bet good money they don't go for it. It's "too political". Heaven forbid they upset the Cindy Sheehan crowd. I personally think it is a great idea though. They could even show an amputee running with his prosthetic leg wearing a pair of Nikes and pay someone who really earned the money.

I jumped at the chance to read this because my 9yr old and I were just discussing the topic. He had an assignment to read and comment on a book about Tiger Woods and how he is a "hero" for breaking into an all white sport. He commented that a golf player simply isn't a hero. He does what he loves to do and gets payed extremely well for it. There is no selflessness involved and noone other than himself benefits from what he does.

Great subject!
on May 18, 2006
Amazing fella...truly. While, there are those..."Celebrities" that I look up to...(an example would be, Phillip seymour hoffman-for his acting skills, remarkable guy). I agree, the TRUE heros...are those who put others before themselves, not just soldiers, parents, police, firefighters...

This guy is a prime exmple of the motto, "Semper fi"

It makes me proud to be/have been related to marines (grandfather, his father...).


Anywho...I agree with the Ad idea, and the parade idea.

HOOAH!

~L
on May 19, 2006
What do you think? Does it stand a chance? I would think it would be a promotional coup for NIKE. Americans would love to see Real American Heros and NIKE would get good press and air time.


Sounds great. To bad these kinds of companies are based on making money and the last thing they want is to upset some of their potential customers. None the less, a pair of Nike shoes with the Logo of the US Armed Forces would be great, I would definitely buy a pair. Good try though, you never know, maybe they can find a way to do it without hurting so many.
on May 19, 2006
He needs to be on a box of Wheaties!!!!!!!

How about trading cards for Medal of Honor / Navy Cross honorees?

There has got to be a market..........
on May 21, 2006
theres nothing HEROIC about these guys and what they are doing.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

we attack a nation thats not attacked us ... hobbled by years of sanctions we helped engineer ... arial bombings for a decade ... and we now glorify people doing THEIR jobs in furtherance of empire.

>He killed the terrorist who did most of the damage to him and his men,

The person he killed was NOT a terrorist .. if he were then our founding fathers would also be terrorists.
www.atimes.comSLASHatimesSLASHMiddle_EastSLASHHE19Ak03.html
replace "SLASH" above ... heres a summary

***********************************
"When the occupation forces entered Baghdad, they killed my brother in front of my eyes. He was wounded and bleeding but the occupation forces didn't allow me to save him. When I tried to save him they began shooting at me, and after a few minutes my brother died. After that I swore to fight them to the death."
*****************************************************
Thats the sort of people we are fighting ... but psy ops tells us they are "terrorists" "alqueda in iraq" and all kinds of nonsense.

Thats not a TERRORIST ... thats a FREEDOM FIGHTER ... and if the positions were reversed most of us WOULD BE DOING WHAT
HE IS DOING.

***********************************
When asked why he was fighting the US forces, he said: "I want you to pose this question to the US forces, not to me. They came from the other side of the world and crossed the ocean to occupy my country
*****************************************************

I repeat there is NOTHING heroic about these soldiers ... I would respect them more if they resigned!!! from the beginning.
on May 21, 2006
The troll returns with nothing arguments and shit for brains.  A true coward in every sense of the word since he lurks around JU but refuses to joint.  Like the Terrorist that are his friends, he is the bacteria that infests the planet.  Adding nothing, just detracting from the rational and good. 
on May 21, 2006
*****************************************************************
May 21, 2006

Jessie Macbeth, a Former Army Ranger and Iraq War Veteran Tells All

An Iraq war veteran tells of atrocities he and other fellow-soldiers committed reguarly while in Iraq. I have never seen this level of honesty from a U.S. soldier who directly participated in the slaughtering of Iraqis.

Excerpts:

"When we were doing the night raids in the houses, we would pull people out and have them all on their knees and zip-tied. We would ask the man of the house questions. If he didn't answer the way we liked, we would shoot his youngest kid in the head. We would keep going, this was our interrogation. He could be innocent. He could be just an average Joe trying to support his family. If he didn't give us a satisfactory answer, we'd start killing off his family until he told us something. If he didn't know anything, I guess he was SOL."

and

"For not speaking out, I feel like I'm betraying my battle-buddies that died."
*************************************************************************
on May 21, 2006
I am not blaming the soldiers as much as the PEOPLE THAT PUT THEM IN THAT POSITION.
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICAN ALIKE!!!

on May 21, 2006
I am not blaming the soldiers as much as the PEOPLE THAT PUT THEM IN THAT POSITION.
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICAN ALIKE!!!

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