This is the story of Roy P. Benavidez , sergeant in the United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets ) during the Vietnam War.
A reconnaissance group consisting of 3 Green Berets and 9 Montagnard (indigenous people from the central highlands of Vietnam who fought alongside US soldiers) were ambushed by the Vietcom in a jungle area near the Cambodian border. The desperate message “get us out of here was repeated on the base station. » (get us out of here ), and in the background a multitude of shots. Without thinking twice, and proof of this is that he only carried a knife, Benavidez he jumped aboard the evacuation helicopter as he was taking off from the base. From the air they verified that the situation of his companions was desperate, but they could not land nearby due to the thickness of the jungle and the enemy fire. Finding a clearing about 70 meters away from the position, Benavidez grabbed a first aid kit and jumped out of the helicopter. While he was running to get to his companions, he was shot in the leg and shrapnel from a grenade hit his face and head, but he still managed to get there. He found himself with 4 dead and the rest of the group wounded to varying degrees. He recovered the classified documents, supplied morphine to the wounded, organized the defense and signaled the helicopter to approach his position. As the helicopter tried to take off, it was shot down. Together with the rest of the survivors, with several more wounds and carrying the dead, they managed to reach the helicopter wreckage where he set up a defense perimeter.
After 6 hours of Numantine defense he managed to mark the enemy's position with smoke canisters so that the air force could clean up the area. When the evacuation helicopters managed to arrive, Benavidez fell to the ground... he had been hit 37 times . Once at the base, a motionless body, covered in blood, with multiple wounds and with the intestines protruding from the stomach wound, was placed next to the dead... it was the body of Benavidez . Just as he was about to be placed in a body bag, he spat in a doctor's face to make him see that he was still alive. He was evacuated to Shaigon and spent almost a year in hospitals to recover from all his injuries:seven bullet wounds, two bayonet wounds and 28 shrapnel fragments scattered throughout his body. In 1968 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and in 1973 the Medal of Honor . He died in 1998, at the age of 63, due to respiratory failure.
