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 two incredible Marines wounded in Afghanistan and eager to rejoin the fight, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd and Cpl. Matt Garst,
Manning the top of a compound south of Sangin, Afghanistan, Sgt. Paul Boothroyd III took a sniper round to the head. He landed face down onto the muddy roof with a thud.
Fifteen minutes later, Boothroyd was bandaged, smiling, smoking a cigarette and giving the “thumbs up†as he waited for the medevac helicopter, to which he walked under his own power.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh s—, I just hit an IED,’†he said. “Then I thought, ‘Well I’m standing. That’s good.’â€
Garst’s squad stared at him in disbelief. The square-jawed Marine has a tendency to be short-tempered, and the realization that the blast was meant to kill him spiked his adrenaline and anger. “It pissed me off,†he said.
He directed his men to establish a security perimeter while letting them know in his own way that he was OK.
“What the f— are you looking at?†he said. “Get on the cordon!†Garst quickly radioed back to base, calling an explosive ordnance disposal team and quick reaction force.“I called them and said, ‘hey, I just got blown up. Get ready,’†he said. “The guy thought I was joking at first. ‘You got blown up? You’re not calling me. Get out of here.’â€
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 SYSK archive can be found here and the Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
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 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.