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Soldier Stories

Feb-24-2004 » Filed Under: General Military

Every so often I visit the Army's Soldier Stories website to read a few of the amazing accounts collected there. I ran across an older story I hadn't seen before that was truly incredible. Excerpts:

A 5th Special Forces Group soldier received the Army's third-highest valor award during a ceremony June 12 for his actions in a January 2002 raid on a suspected al Qaeda stronghold in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Master Sgt. Anthony S. Pryor, a team sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th SFG, received the Silver Star Medal for his gallantry in combat during the raid when he single-handedly eliminated four enemy soldiers, including one in unarmed combat, all while under intense automatic weapons fire and with a crippling injury.

"Receiving this award is overwhelming, but... this isn't a story about one guy," Pryor said of the events that led to his Silver Star. "It's a story about the whole company instead of an award on the chest. If the guys hadn't done what they were supposed to do, (the mission) would've been a huge failure."[...]

"About a year ago ... I said to Tony, 'what did you think when that fellow knocked your night-vision goggles off, pulled your arm out of its socket and was twisting it, all while you were fighting with your other hand?'" Lambert said. "And (Pryor) said, 'it's show time.' He must have meant what he said, because he earned that Silver Star. Think about a cold, black night; think about fighting four guys at the same time, and somebody jumps on your back and starts beating you with a board. Think about the problems you'd have to solve - and he did."

As they say, read the whole thing.


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