(Military Times) Op-Ed: True Defender of Freedom

[unhappycamper]

True Defender of Freedom
(convicted felon) Oliver North | December 05, 2008

Freedom Alliance is an educational-charitable foundation that, among other things, provides college scholarships to the offspring of U.S. military personnel killed in action. Every year, coincident with the Army-Navy Game, the organization presents its "Defender of Freedom Award" to an individual whose character, courage and selfless deeds inspire virtuous service from the rest of us. This year's recipient, U.S. Marine Lieutenant Andrew Kinard, unequivocally meets this criteria.

On October 29, 2006, Lieutenant Kinard was leading his Marines on a foot patrol in Rawah, Iraq – searching for a terrorist bomb factory – when a command-detonated IED exploded directly next to his left leg. The blast blew him into the air – and he landed almost 20 feet from the crater. Three other Marines were wounded.

According to those who were there, before the grievously injured officer passed out from loss of blood, he ordered them to set up security, get a head count and start treating the other injured Marines. The platoon Corpsman tried to staunch the flow of blood but couldn't find enough undamaged tissue to apply tourniquets and the Lieutenant was losing blood—from almost everywhere.

A Cas-Evac helicopter airlifted him to the Marine Air Base at Al Asad, then to the Army trauma hospital at Balad, north of Baghdad. Sixty-seven pints of whole blood – more than five times the amount in a a healthy adult – were pumped into the failing officer's veins in a 24-hour period.

By the time he was flown to Landstuhl, Germany in a C-17 Nightingale, he had gone into cardiac arrest – and been resuscitated – twice. Emergency surgeries went on nearly non-stop to plug the seemingly innumerable holes punched in his body. The family was alerted, and a prayer vigil held. Hundreds of people half a world away went to their knees and begged God for a miracle.

Some miracles happen immediately. This one took awhile.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,180546,00.html