Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Sgt. Matthew Matlock, a noncommissioned officer from Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment for actions he took under fire to save Soldiers in Afghanistan.
“You never know, really, what you’re made of until you’re put into that situation,” Matlock said. “You don’t really think about anything else except getting your guys out of there. That was all that was going through my head – these guys are going to make it home. And I made sure of that.”
Eighteen months passed since that day in Afghanistan. Matlock listened from the theater’s front row as Garrett spoke of his actions.
“Staff Sgt. Matlock fought with such incredible bravery, deliberately putting himself at risk time and time again to save the lives of his men,” Garrett said. “He stepped forward without hesitation and did everything we expect of a seasoned combat leader of any rank.”
Matlock, 26, a native of Amarillo, Texas followed in the footsteps of his father, William Matlock, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant. In 2002, he joined the infantry and underwent airborne training before joining 1-503rd, the battalion known as “First Rock,” where he served in the scout platoon sniper section. In March 2003, Matlock served a yearlong tour in Iraq. In 2005, he served a year in Afghanistan. Afterward, Matlock joined Company C, 1-503rd, rising from team leader to squad leader. In 2007, Matlock deployed again to Afghanistan. It was during that second Afghanistan tour when his actions merited the Silver Star, the military’s third highest award, given only for valor and gallantry in combat.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
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On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.