Even though we are not technically at war with any country at this moment in time, that does not mean that our brave soldiers aren’t putting their lives on the line to save individuals in need. One soldier made the ultimate sacrifice saving the lives of innocent people who were facing death at the hands of the evil ISIS.
The video above shows the intense and deadly raid of an Islamic State prison in Northern Iraq in a joint mission by 30 troops from Delta Force and Kurdish forces. The dramatic rescue of approximately 70 prisoners, at least 20 from the Iraqi security services, was captured by the helmet cam of a Kurdish soldier. The operation went down on Thursday and was it just in time because the Pentagon said that the hostages were facing “imminent mass execution.”
“We knew the hostages would soon be murdered because we saw freshly dug graves,” said Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S. military operation against ISIS.
The frantic footage shows hostages with blood-stained garb running out of cells as gunfire can be heard in the background.
However it came at a very, very expensive cost. Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, a member of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force, died during the operation. Wheeler, 39, was the first American to die in combat in Iraq since 2011.
“He ran to the sound of the guns and he stood up,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a news briefing on Friday. “All the indications are it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those that were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission a success.”
Wheeler was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
Rest in peace Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler.