During combat operations in Anbar province in September 2006, U.S. Army 1st Lt. W. Bryan Jackson’s unit was attacked by jihadis, leaving several soldiers wounded by machine-gun fire. Instead of seeking cover, Jackson rushed to the side of his wounded first sergeant and began giving first aid.

However, Jackson was soon hit in the thigh himself and briefly lost consciousness. When he came to, he quickly resumed aid for his comrade, rather than seek attention for his own wound, all while intermittently returning fire on the enemy. Jackson then carried his first sergeant 30 feet to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle for evacuation, despite being hit a second time by enemy fire. He was evacuated as well but refused treatment until his fellow soldier received more critical aid.

Even after the first of several surgeries, Jackson thought only of the man whose life he saved. For his selfless courage and extraordinary heroism, Jackson received both the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross – the seventh soldier since 1975 to receive that high award. “I believe I just had to do what I had to do in that situation,” he said later. “I think many soldiers would have done the same thing.”

(This account was originally published in the April 18, 2008 Digest.)

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