Filmed more than four years ago during a MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) in a valley in Afghanistan, the following video shows how Capt. Will Swenson of the U.S. Army earned the medal of honor will receive on Oct. 15.
The dramatic footage, recorded with a camera attached to the Black Hawk helicopter pilot’s helmet on Sept. 8, 2009 during the so called Battle of Ganjgal, shows Swenson in the middle of an ambush using a high visibility flag to mark the position where the MEDEVAC chopper would have to land to rescue a wounded sergeant first class.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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