The Boys from North Dakota save a life

2DREZQ · 05-19-2006, 15:46 PM

Quote:

N.D. Guard soldiers save Iraqi boy’s life

Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — National Guard soldiers on a mission to clear roadside bombs pulled an Iraqi boy from a canal and saved him from drowning, the military said.

Soldiers from the Minot-based 164th Engineer Combat Battalion and the Missouri-based 110th Engineer Battalion rescued the boy on May 1 near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, military officials said in a statement.

The soldiers were in their military vehicles, preparing to cross a canal, when they saw an Iraqi man and a youth frantically waving their arms for help. The soldiers then saw a boy in the canal, drowning in the swift-flowing water, Guard officials said. They described the rescue in a statement issued Thursday.

Spc. Kyle Mueller, of Minot, a former lifeguard, removed his protective armor and dove into the water after asking his platoon leader for permission. Initial attempts to find the boy in the murky water were not successful, officials said.

Spc. David VanVoorhis, of Minot, a gunner on an armored RG-31 personnel carrier, could see from atop the vehicle where the boy had gone under the water, and directed Mueller to him.

Mueller pulled the boy from beneath the surface. Sgt. Guy Stevens, of Minot, shed his protective gear and dove into the water to help. Together, they pulled the boy to shore, military officials said.

Other soldiers, including Sgt. Jeffrey Simek, of Bismarck, stepped into the water and helped bring the soldiers and the boy ashore.

Stevens said they boy did not appear to be breathing, and was turning blue. Soldiers put the boy face down and forced water out of his lungs.

The boy started coughing. Soldiers said they stayed with the boy until he was fully conscious.

“It really was the right place at the right time,” Muller said in the statement released by the Guard. He said his actions came “automatically, like I wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. I’m just glad he’s OK.”

1st Lt. Kris Neset, the platoon leader, said a few minutes after saving the boy, the soldiers returned to their vehicles and patrolled for roadside bombs for another seven hours.

“We never did get the kid’s name,” Neset said.

One of the men said he never thought he'd rescue a drowning victim in the middle of the desert.

This is a fine example of winning hearts and minds. Ask this Iraqi family what they think of American soldiers.

Confed999 · 05-20-2006, 00:44 AM

Good job guys.

ChrisF202 · 05-23-2006, 14:46 PM

Yup, another example of the evil infidels butchering innocent civilians.

05-20-2006, 00:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
Confed999 Staff Emeritus Join Date: 09-10-03 Location: Florida Posts: 10,681 Country:	Good job guys. __________________ No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

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05-23-2006, 14:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
ChrisF202 *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 08-12-03 Location: Long Island, New York, USA Posts: 2,593 Country:	Yup, another example of the evil infidels butchering innocent civilians.

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