Wednesday's Hero: 1st Lt. W. Bryan Jackson

Today is the day we put politics on the shelf and take the time to honor our men and women who are risking their very own lives to protect their team, their country, their families, and us. We honor them because they deserve our gratitude. We will continue to honor them even after the last Soldier has come home.

This week's hero is named 1st. Lt. W. Bryan Jackson, and he is from Whidbey Island, WA. The award he earned is the second highest, the Distinguished Service Cross. The only medal higher is the Medal of Honor. 1st. Lt. Jackson is a member of the Army, and he was serving as a 2nd Lt. at the time of this operation.

A second lieutenant at the time of his heroic action on Sept. 27, 2006, Lt. Jackson was cited for selfless courage under extreme enemy fire while serving as a company fire support officer with company A, Task Force 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

Lt. Jackson was engaged in combat operations with his unit against insurgents and while he attempted to recover a disabled vehicle, his unit came under heavy machine gun fire, which resulted in several Soldiers being wounded. As he applied first aid to a severely wounded comrade, he too was shot in the thigh.

Lt. Jackson’s citation in part reads: “Upon regaining consciousness after being shot, second lieutenant alternated between returning fire and administering first aid to the Soldier. Second Lt. Jackson was hit again with machine gun fire as he helped carry his wounded comrade to safety, but he never faltered in his aid. Although his own severe wounds required immediate evacuation and surgical care, 2nd Lt. Jackson refused medical assistance until his wounded comrade could be treated. Second Lt. Jackson’s selfless courage under extreme enemy fire was essential to saving another Soldier’s life and is in keeping with the finest traditions of military service…” [Continue reading this article at The QandO.]

For some more links, please check the Washington Post story, the Citation, Project Hero blog (The QandO), and you may download this Hero's story by right clicking and choosing "Save Target As...".

I would like to say, "Thank you" to 1st Lt. Jackson. I would also like to say job well done. It is to people like these whom I shall honor and be grateful to for keeping this country safe. Thank you to all of you as well. Godspeed.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Today I am having an open post trackback, and you are welcome to trackback or ping an article you wish to share with others. I like to use Linkfest for this, because there are many people with good posts already up over there. It is also a good way to share your articles. Give it a go, eh? The only rule I have is that there shall be no porn. Thanks, and have a great day.

Posts I've trackbacked to at Linkfest and other sites: The QandO: Project Hero: 1LT Walter Bryan Jackson, Distinguished Service Cross, Outside the Beltway: Democrats Breaking Up Over Obama-Clinton Fight?, Right Truth: Watch This Video and Laugh!!!, Adam's Blog: Post of the Day for March 26, 2008, Shadowscope: Wordless Wednesday, Pursuing Holiness: Katrina Coverup By American Society of Civil Engineers, The Yankee Sailor: Wednesday Open Post, D equals S: TODAY’S OPEN THREAD AND WTF!: HILLARY’S MEXICAN COUSIN, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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