It’s people like Staff Sergeant Ty Carter that make America the greatest nation on Earth.
Via Free Beacon:
By 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2009, then-Spc. Ty Carter and then-Sgt. Bradley Larson were down to 50 rounds of ammunition, wounded, isolated, and trying to hold the southern flank of Outpost Keating.
President Barack Obama will award Carter the Medal of Honor Monday for his actions at Outpost Keating.
The subject of Jake Tapper’s book The Outpost, Keating had been plagued by Taliban attacks in the months leading up to October 2009. Those were trials, meant to test the outpost’s weakest points. At 5:59 a.m. on Oct. 3, more than 300 Taliban flooded Keating from higher ground on all four sides. The Afghan troops stationed there fled, leaving about 50 Americans and a few Latvians.
A towering figure with a sober, mechanical demeanor (soldiers nicknamed him “Wheat Bread”), Carter emerged from the barracks with a bulletproof vest and the ammunition he had, then sprinted the length of a football field under fire so heavy it “looked like it was raining.”
On Keating’s southern flank, Carter met up with other soldiers— including Larson, Staff Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos, and Spc. Stephan Mace—who took the ammo, but needed more, as well as lubricant for the weapons.
Carter sprinted back, under the same fire. “Everyone needs everything,” he yelled upon arrival, and shot the locks off doors, before heading back to the position.
He returned to find the already bad conditions deteriorating fast. Larson, Gallegos, an already wounded Mace, and another soldier were taking cover in a Humvee, literally rocking back and forth from the assault.
Realizing the tenuous position, Carter and Larson volunteered to stay behind and provide cover for the others—but the assault proved too devastating. An RPG destroyed Mace’s legs. Gallegos was gunned down and killed instantly.
Just 30 feet away, but separated by enemy fire, Mace shouted for help, trying to crawl toward them on shattered legs.