American Valor Quarterly Issue 2 - Spring 2008 | Page 40

two were knocked out I figured I was good to go. All of a sudden
I heard footsteps coming downstairs and they started blasting into
the bedroom I was in. I’m thinking, man my math is way off because
I only thought there were two people in this house.
It turns out there were six people in the house, and they kept
coming. They were screaming at me, calling me a Jewish dog.
They said they were going to cut my head off and they wouldn’t
find my dog tags and I started yelling to them in Arabic. They
yelled at me in English. We were having a conversation—I’m
telling them to surrender to the 1st Infantry Division; “Stop or I’ll
shoot!” You know, the basic Arabic we learned in our handbook.
During that, I was able to get some really quality shots off. I
learned a lot of lessons from the officers and NCOs who taught
me that if they give you a shoulder, take a shoulder. Every shot
doesn’t necessarily have to be a kill shot. I did that, and I was able
American and Iraqi forces tried, when possible, to spare Fallujah’s
buildings. However, when met with particularly violent insurgents holed to soften them up and basically put enough rounds into them.
up in houses, Caterpillar D9 bulldozers were called in to collapse the
house on top of the enemy fighters. Just prior to this photo being
taken, an insurgent emptied his AK-47 on the cab of the D9 and threw
a grenade at it. Many of the enemy insurgents were high on liquid
adrenaline and amphetamines, among other drugs, making them utterly
fearless in the face of death.

Left and right: Col. Willard Buhl

of ammunition, I saw these insurgents and the look on their faces,
and I ran out of the house. I was thinking about what a liar and
what a coward I am. I was very close to the lowest I’ve ever been
in my life. For the first time in over three years that I was leading
these men they looked to other NCOs for leadership. That broke
my heart.
After seeing that, I made a decision to go back into that house
and a journalist, Michael Ware from TIME Magazine, wanted to
Col. Willy Buhl (right), with Sgt.Maj. Ed Sax and GySgt.
come with me. Ware is a very brave man – he went in. I remember
Christian Wade in the Jolan section of Fallujah,
right before we went into the house, he was like, “You know, this
November 10, 2004.
is like taking out a machine gun nest at Iwo Jima. This is incredible.
You can do this; I see the fire in your eyes. You’re an American
institution, I believe in you.” I started to motivate myself and I I ended up in a room and heard noises coming from a wardrobe,
turned and looked at him and the camcorder was on the ground, and some guy all of a sudden jumped out of the wardrobe. He
and he’s long gone. That didn’t help my confidence!
had gray hair and something in his eye—he was scared of me.
That empowered me. So when he ran up the stairs, I ran after
I moved into the house with a buddy of mine, SSgt. Scott him. I got a couple stairs up, slipped on some blood and he shot
Lawson. Lawson caught a round in the shoulder as soon as we his AK-47 on the landing and it burned my face. I thought to
turned into the house. We didn’t know how bad it was, but there myself, you know, I’m ready to get shot here. I can literally prepare
was no way he could fight. So I was alone. I didn’t have that myself for shrapnel.
much ammunition on me either. I had given up my magazines. I
only carried four into that house because I figured that if I was I went into the second story and I tossed a frag at him. It exploded
going to die I didn’t want the enemy to have ammunition to use and injured him but didn’t kill him. I looked at the room he was
against us.
in and it was just surrounded with propane tanks. I couldn’t even
see walls there were so many tanks. I thought to myself, I’m not
I walked into the house and looked around; it was rigged to blow. really a natural gas expert. I don’t know what a tracer round is
There were propane tanks all the way up to the ceiling, a Soviet going to do to this stuff. Looking back at the insurgent, I saw
version of C-4 all over the walls. After looking around, I was able to that he was reeling. He was injured so I took the M16 that I had
get off some good shots. These guys were drugged, and they couldn’t and I just started beating him with it. I used it like a bat since I
work an RPG very well so they were pacified real quick. After those was afraid t