The guy I didn’t shoot
Back during the war there was a guy I didn’t shoot. It happened minutes after I was wounded.
I had a scratch on my right cheek left by debris from an RPG that flew eighteen inches past my head. Another enemy dropped a hand grenade from the roof above. It exploded sending a piece of shrapnel that lodged into the magazine pouch on my left hip, which then burst into flames. Another piece entered my left arm just above the elbow. I turned to take cover when a third enemy on the opposite roof began to fire upon me. I was on the move when an AK-47 round pierced my right hamstring. It was a clean “through and through” shot. Another round from that same burst penetrated the magazine inserted in my rifle. Other rounds kicked up dirt in front of and behind me. The fighting was close.
I was extremely fortunate. If my pace had been any faster or slower, or if the enemy’s muzzle was a fraction of an inch different then the round would have either shattered my femur, or penetrated my exposed ribcage. I would have died there on that dusty street in Husaybah.
Two of my guys were also hit so we established a casualty collection point in a nearby house. Many of the homes in this Iraqi city had concrete walls around them with solid steel gates. I was moving quickly down the street with a wall on my left side, the same side as my wounded arm. At this point the sleeve had been cut off and the wound was bandaged. It ached and my range of motion was restricted. The gate was slightly ajar as I ran past. Approximately three feet away on the other side of the gate, moving in the opposite direction, was a man in a track suit with carrying an AK-47. We made eye contact.
Between the close distance, the rate of movement, and the arm wound, I was unable to swing my rifle around and fire. Likewise I was unable to produce a hand grenade. We both kept moving, me to the cover of the casualty collection point, and he to his next fighting position.
Over the years I’ve often wondered he if survived the Battle of Husaybah. How many Marines were killed or wounded because of his actions? Many veterans struggle with feelings of remorse for having to take a life. I feel guilty for the guy I didn’t shoot.