Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Catholic Defender: One of My Soldiers is honored as "Soldier of the Year"

This is taken from the Killeen Daily Herold:

Sgt. Zachary C. Dispennette (far left), a medic in the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, was named as the USO Soldier of the Year Thursday.

He and four others from the Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard are set to be honored at the 2010 USO Gala Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C. The event is set to feature appearances by Bill Engvall, Trisha Yearwood, Trevor Romain, Madison Pettis and other Washington and military officials.

Dispennette, a native of Pittsboro, N.C., was named the USO's Soldier of the Year for actions during the division's last deployment to Iraq.

He was serving as a section medic on a June 28, 2009, convoy when the battalion commander's vehicle was hit by a car bombing.

"After two failed attempts to reach the gravely wounded commander (Lt. Col. Timothy Karcher, centered in picture), Dispennette, without any order from the platoon leader and no regard for his own personal safety, rushed to the burning vehicle to aid the non-responding commander," according to information released Thursday by USO. "Noticing the severe damage to both of the commander's legs, Dispennette applied four tourniquets to the legs of the commander and began treating his shrapnel wounds."

With help from fellow soldiers, Dispennette removed Karcher from the flaming vehicle and continued to provide aid as the site was evacuated.

Dispennette was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for his actions that day.

You can read much of this in the "Catholic Defender in Iraq II" Thread found in the Archives of www.Catholic-Convert.com.

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