Helmet Cam Video Shows Soldier Drawing Taliban Fire To Save His Squad

The wildest, and perhaps most heroic helmet cam video ever, was recently posted on YouTube. A brave United States soldier is shown intentionally drawing Taliban gunfire away from his pinned down squad to save the lives of his military brothers.

An unnamed soldier is shown actively engaging Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan during a machine gun fight. An Army helmet cam captures the dangerous battle segment as the man risks his own life so others in his trapped squad can make it to safety.

The Army squad was conducting “recon” to gather intelligence in a village near the Kunar Province in Afghanistan. While conducting their patrol in the region known for frequent violence, the squad encountered heavy machine gun fire from Taliban insurgents, causing the group to be pinned down.

The man who exposed himself to rapid machine gun fire was reportedly shot four times while drawing the attention of the Taliban fighters away from his squadron.

The soldier helmet cam video description reads:

“I got hit a total of four times. My helmet cam died and I made it down the mountain on my own. I was also hit in the side of my helmet and my eye pro was shot off my face. We were doing overwatch on the village to recon and gather intel. I was point heading down the face of the hill with the LT. when we got hit. The rest of the squad was pinned down by machine gun fire. I didn’t start the video until a few minutes into the firefight for obvious reasons. I came out into the open to draw fire so my squad could get to safety. A round struck the tube by my hand of the 203 grenade launcher which knocked it out of my hands. When I picked the rifle back up it was still functional but the grenade launcher tube had a nice sized 7.62 caliber bullet hole in it and was rendered useless.”

Thanks to the body armor the brave soldier was wearing, Taliban insurgent bullets did not penetrate his flesh, and he made it back to base without any injuries. The helmet cam footage is being used in an ongoing project documenting the war in Afghanistan.