Army Captain Will Swenson was awarded the Medal of Honor on Tuesday “for his actions in a lengthy battle against the Taliban in the Ganjgal valley near the Pakistan border on Sept. 8, 2009, which claimed the lives of five Americans, 10 Afghan army troops and an interpreter,” as reported by The Army Times. Swenson is the sixth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
An extraordinary video came to light in September showing Swenson in action without a helmet – bullets flying all around him. As reported by The U.S. Army YouTube channel:
“This video depicts the battlefield actions of Cpt. William Swenson on Sept. 8, 2009 near the village of Ganjgal in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, as he directs MedEvac landing for the evacuation of his critically injured teammate, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook. The video was captured by two different MedEvac crew members and shows each crew member’s perspective of events spanning the same time period.”
You can watch the raw footage below followed by a new report by CBS Evening News featuring Sgt. Kevin Duerst of the California National Guard, the crew chief of a medevac helicopter that flew into the valley.
Raw Video: Battlefield Actions of Former Army Cpt. William Swenson:
From CBS Evening News:
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