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| Afghanistan |
| U.S. Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet in Afghanistan |
| 2010-02-15 |
| MARJAH, Afghanistan--It is hard to know whether Monday was a very bad day or a very good day for Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig. On the one hand, he was shot in the head. On the other, the bullet bounced off him. In one of those rare battlefield miracles, an insurgent sniper hit Lance Cpl. Koenig dead on in the front of his helmet, and he walked away from it with a smile on his face. "I don't think I could be any luckier than this," Lance Cpl. Koenig said two hours after the shooting. Lance Cpl. Koenig's brush with death came during a day of intense fighting for the Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. Lance Cpl. Koenig is a designated marksman. His job is to hit the elusive Taliban fighters hiding in the tightly packed neighborhood near the base. The insurgent sniper hit him first. The Casper, Wyo., native was kneeling on the roof of the one-story outpost, looking for targets. He was reaching back to his left for his rifle when the sniper's round slammed into his helmet. The impact knocked him onto his back. "I'm hit," he yelled to his buddy, Lance Cpl. Scott Gabrian, a 21-year-old from St. Louis. Lance Cpl. Gabrian belly-crawled along the rooftop to his friend's side. He patted Lance Cpl. Koenig's body, looking for wounds. Then he noticed that the plate that usually secures night-vision goggles to the front of Lance Cpl. Koenig's helmet was missing. In its place was a thumb-deep dent in the hard Kevlar shell. The only injury: A small, numb red welt on his forehead, just above his right eye. Word of Lance Cpl. Koenig's close call spread quickly through the outpost, as he emerged from the shock of the experience and walked through the outpost with a Cheshire cat grin. Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Shelton, whose job is to keep the Marines stocked with food, water and gear, teased the lance corporal for failing to take care of his helmet. "I need that damaged-gear statement tonight," Gunnery Sgt. Shelton told Lance Cpl. Koenig. It was understood, however, that Lance Cpl. Koenig would be allowed to keep the helmet as a souvenir. Sgt. Shelton, a 36-year-old veteran from Nashville, said he had never seen a Marine survive a direct shot to the head. But next to him was Cpl. Christopher Ahrens, who quietly mentioned that two bullets had grazed his helmet the day the Marines attacked Marjah. The same thing, he said, happened to him three times in firefights in Iraq. I'm thinking Corporal Ahrens needs to find a different line of work. After his moment with Lance Cpl. Gabrian, Lance Cpl. Koenig put his dented helmet back on his head and climbed the metal ladder to resume his rooftop duty within an hour of being hit. "Mahmoud, I got good news and bad news. The good news is, I shot one of the infidel Marines right in the head." "Outstanding work, Achmed. What's the bad news?" "He's pissed." |
| Posted by:Matt |
| #2 Ima thinkrn the story of Lance Cpl Koenig and Sgt. Shelton need to be broadcast on the Jihadi airwaves, saying "you can't kill us!". Propaganda has effects. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-02-15 22:14 |
| #1 "I'm thinking Corporal Ahrens needs to find a different line of work." I'm thinking Corporal Ahrens shouldn't waste his money buying lottery tickets. He's used up a lifetime's worth of luck. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-02-15 20:43 |