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Odessa soldier, 24, awarded Army Commendation Medal

Aug- 6-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

[Link to Full Article]
By Melanie Wong, Odessa American

Pfc. Robert D. Wilhite Jr. didn’t think he’d done anything special when he jumped into an Iraqi canal on Dec. 8 to rescue drowning men from fallen Stryker tanks.

“He just didn’t think it was a big deal,” said his mother, Odessan Judy Wilhite. “He was just doing what he was supposed to.”

However, according to the U.S. Army, his heroic feats not only brought success of the command’s mission, but also deserved the Army Commendation Medal.
Wilhite, 24, is a licensed emergency medical technician who worked at the Odessa Fire Department.[...]

“They were going over an embankment when two Stryker tanks went into the canal,” Judy Wihite said.

Her son, “without regard for personal safety,” jumped into the canal, swam to the overturned tanks and worked to evacuate trapped personnel, including an unconscious sergeant, according to Army documents.

He then gave the sergeant CPR until he revived, instructed other soldiers on how to treat injured men and worked to treat the men himself.

“He provided advanced first aid at a level that would have been otherwise unavailable until the arrival of (medical) personnel,” said platoon leader 2nd Lt. Damon Armeni in his recommendation of Wilhite for the honor.

Armeni said that by jumping into the canal and administering CPR by the roadside, Wilhite was exposing himself to enemy fire, drowning and hypothermia.[...]


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