{"id":180,"date":"2005-10-13T16:25:42","date_gmt":"2005-10-13T21:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/?p=180"},"modified":"2010-04-05T14:49:08","modified_gmt":"2010-04-05T19:49:08","slug":"the-embodiment-of-the-american-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/?p=180","title":{"rendered":"The Embodiment of the American Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

Injured Marine defies attackers
\nBY C. DAVID KOTOK
\nWORLD-HERALD <\/a>STAFF WRITER
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153RAMADI, Iraq – Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him – defiance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt "communicates" with his Iraqi attackers<\/p><\/div>\n

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt signals defiance at his Iraqi attackers after being injured by an improvised explosive device near Ramadi. Attending to the Marine were Nebraska 167th Cavalry members Spc. John Adams (far left, in front) of Hastings, Neb., and Pfc. Darin Nelson of Fremont, Neb.<\/p>\n

Burghardt, of Huntington Beach, Calif., started his third tour in Iraq trying to beat the insurgents to the IEDs – improvised explosive devices – and disarm them before the insurgents could set them off.<\/p>\n

As is often the case, Burghardt and his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were accompanied to a bomb site Monday by the First Platoon, 167th Cavalry of the Nebraska National Guard.<\/p>\n

One IED had blown up a Bradley fighting vehicle and killed a U.S. soldier. As often happens, the insurgents left behind more IEDs. Burghardt disarmed two bombs that were found – quick action that probably saved the lives of several Nebraska soldiers.<\/p>\n

But he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get to a third.<\/p>\n

When word spread that the third device had been found, 167th Capt. Jeff Searcey of Kearney, 1st Lt. Matthew Misfeldt of Omaha and their men hit the ground as a blast exploded skyward.<\/p>\n

Burghardt was wounded.
\n<\/p>\n

But with two new young Marines in his ordnance disposal unit – and the insurgent attackers undoubtedly looking on – \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want them to see the team leader carried away on a stretcher,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n

So after the Nebraskans tended to wounds that reached from his boot tops to the small of his back, Burghardt rose to his feet and reached back with a one-finger salute for his attackers.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was angry,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Burghardt said.<\/p>\n

IEDs – which can be roadside bombs, car bombs or other booby traps – increasingly are the weapons of choice for the Iraqi insurgents.<\/p>\n

Unwilling or unable to attack U.S. forces head-on, the insurgency has used the hidden explosives, often detonated by remote control. Some analysts have estimated that nearly 12,000 IED incidents occurred in Iraq in 2004.<\/p>\n

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal units are assigned to locate, identify, disarm and dispose of IEDs. The Nebraskans alongside Burghardt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unit provide security at the scene, guarding the perimeter while the EOD teams do their dangerous work.<\/p>\n

The 1st Platoon has been on 80 such missions, including some false alarms, since the 167th Cavalry arrived in Ramadi about 90 days ago.<\/p>\n

Working together, the ordnance disposal Marines and the Nebraska National Guardsmen have developed a mutual respect – there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no Army-Marine trash-talking here.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The biggest threat to us in Iraq is IEDs. We love working with them. They make us better soldiers,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Misfeldt said.<\/p>\n

Burghardt, an 18-year Marine with 15 years\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 experience disarming explosives, returns that admiration.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I feel part of this Army team,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They take care of us like brothers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Burghardt received the Bronze Star during his last tour of duty for disarming 64 IEDs. This week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incident was his first injury.<\/p>\n

Burghardt, 35, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t accept painkillers when he was brought back to camp by the Nebraskans. He knew he might need them later. And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not looking to leave Ramadi for five more months.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want a ticket out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I want to stay here so we can take as many people home as possible.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Soldiers all the way up to the brigade\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s commander, Col. John Gronski, viewed a photo of Burghardt – on his feet, arm extended and middle finger raised – as the embodiment of the American warrior.<\/p>\n

As for Burghardt, he said he wanted to send a message to the insurgents who failed to kill him.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I knew there was somebody disappointed out there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Injured Marine defies attackers BY C. DAVID KOTOK WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER \u00e2\u20ac\u0153RAMADI, Iraq – Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him – defiance. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt signals defiance at his Iraqi attackers after being injured by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":958,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.phyrfight.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}