Army Pfc. Christopher Nauman, a son of Holly Hendrickson of Valley Park, was wounded April 7 during an eight-hour fight with Syrian mercenaries south of Baghdad. Embedded reporters said Nauman was being borne away on a stretcher when he saw a "dead" enemy soldier suddenly stir and grab for a Kalashnikov automatic rifle.
Fortunately for the Americans, Nauman still clutched the 12-gauge shotgun he had brought to Iraq for extra firepower. Nauman, 19, sat up and fired twice, killing the enemy soldier.
Two newspaper articles described the fight on Highway 8 just south of Baghdad and how Nauman killed the enemy soldier. The Sunday Telegraph of London quoted Nauman as saying: "We took some incoming. I pushed my buddy down (and) I took something in the leg myself. My buddy, he's still fighting. I dropped my M-16, but there was no way I was letting go of my
12-gauge shotgun. I was pulling security all the way back on that
stretcher. Just as well. This guy pops up four feet away. I just leaned over on the stretcher, and it was, like - boom - I got him."
The Toronto Star quoted one of Nauman's buddies, Spc. Robert Crotty, saying: "The guy's lying on a stretcher and he's still shooting! He saved our lives."
Hendrickson said knowing what's on the video still unsettles her. She said she had been worried and restless since three weeks before the war began. When her phone rang at 5 a.m., she was terrified to answer it.
"I heard his voice. Something was wrong, but I knew I was talking to him. I just started crying," she said. "I am proud of him. He did his job very well. I will keep the film, in case he wants to see it."
Reporter Tim O'Neil:
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 314-340-8132
Fortunately for the Americans, Nauman still clutched the 12-gauge shotgun he had brought to Iraq for extra firepower. Nauman, 19, sat up and fired twice, killing the enemy soldier.
Two newspaper articles described the fight on Highway 8 just south of Baghdad and how Nauman killed the enemy soldier. The Sunday Telegraph of London quoted Nauman as saying: "We took some incoming. I pushed my buddy down (and) I took something in the leg myself. My buddy, he's still fighting. I dropped my M-16, but there was no way I was letting go of my
12-gauge shotgun. I was pulling security all the way back on that
stretcher. Just as well. This guy pops up four feet away. I just leaned over on the stretcher, and it was, like - boom - I got him."
The Toronto Star quoted one of Nauman's buddies, Spc. Robert Crotty, saying: "The guy's lying on a stretcher and he's still shooting! He saved our lives."
Hendrickson said knowing what's on the video still unsettles her. She said she had been worried and restless since three weeks before the war began. When her phone rang at 5 a.m., she was terrified to answer it.
"I heard his voice. Something was wrong, but I knew I was talking to him. I just started crying," she said. "I am proud of him. He did his job very well. I will keep the film, in case he wants to see it."
Reporter Tim O'Neil:
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 314-340-8132
