Apache Co-Pilot Gives Seat To Wounded, Straps Self To Fuselage
This should be the new definition of heroism. The guy friggin' strapped himself to the outside of a helicopter!
Giving up his seat to a wounded soldier, an Army officer strapped himself to the side of his Apache helicopter gunship that airlifted them out of a furious firefight in Iraq, the U.S. command said Monday.
The Army called it an "unusual casualty evacuation," but Chief Warrant Officer Allen Crist's selfless act goes way beyond heroism.
Realizing that Specialist Jeffrey Jamaleldine needed medical attention fast, Crist put the critically wounded man in his own spot on the two-seat Apache on Saturday.
Crist then rigged a harness to strap himself to the fuselage and crouched on the stubby left gun wing of the aircraft.
With Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Purtee at the controls and Crist hanging on for dear life, the Apache flew out of the battle zone to a field hospital. Jamaleldine, 31, of Fort Smith, Ark., was later reported to be in stable condition, the Army said.
Crist, the co-pilot and gunner, of Warrensburg, Mo., and pilot Purtee, from Houston, were unscathed.
***UPDATE***
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