By Ron Young, Eagle Scout and U.S. Army Reservist
On March 23, 2003, my helicopter was shot down. I was a 26-year old combat rookie, just two days into Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was with a group of 18 American helicopters flying north when red tracers from Iraqi anti-aircraft installations began streaking into the sky.
It was sporadic at first, but then everything changed. All of a sudden, we hit a wall of lead and it didn’t let up for 25 solid minutes. A bullet finally punched into the fuselage, and the Apache lost its weapon system.
I continued to guide Dave Williams, the pilot, through the maze of tracers, as best as I could. But the bullets were getting closer and closer. All of a sudden, the aircraft shook, shuddered, yawed to the left, and leaned back. I yelled at Dave not to slow down, and he screamed back that we’d lost an engine. That’s when I knew we were going down.
We slammed into the field below, scrambled out, sprinted away and then dove into a ditch. Shooting and explosions were everywhere. We tried to put distance between ourselves and the search parties forming at the disabled helicopter. Then, I heard something and hit the ground.
When I looked up, I saw a bunch of Iraqis moving towards us. We knew they’d kill us if we start running, and I had 15 9mm pistol rounds against an entire Iraqi patrol with AK-47s. The only way to live was to give ourselves up.
We were dragged from one house to another during the next weeks. The treatment was rough and the interrogations sometimes brutal. I spent 23 days thinking I would never see another sunrise.
But I’m an Eagle Scout. I learned early on that you have to keep pushing yourself forward. No matter what the situation, no matter how challenging. That all came into play in Iraq.
I’ve known too many guys who’ve lost their lives over there. They were all willing to make that kind of sacrifice on behalf of people who will never even know or understand. That kind of service is really amazing. And the reason we, in the armed forces, do that is because we grew up with certain values, like the values I took from the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
For a century, scouting has been helping America’s young people realize that they can do more than they ever thought possible. I’m really proud of all scouting has done and it’s been great to reconnect since I returned home. I hope others will do the same - help a local scout troop or council and help shape that next generation that’ll one day be guarding our freedom.
Ron Young is an Eagle Scout and Army Reservist, stationed near Atlanta, Ga. A detailed account of his story can be read in the book “Spirit of Adventure,” by Alvin Townley. Learn more about reconnecting with the Boy Scouts of America at http://www.bsaalumni.org/.
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