Warrior Wednesday 2-25

Today's edition of Warrior Wednesday is a special one, for a special breed of man who gives much more than he ever asks for.
This week's honor goes to "doc" John Bradley. Doc fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, was one of six who helped raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, handled over 200 wounded or dying Marines, lost his best friend in the battle who wasn't just killed, he was captured, tortured, mutilated and then killed.
He was the recipient of the Navy Cross (the Nations second highest award for valor), the purple heart and Presidential Unit Citation.

After the battle:
Doc toured the US with the other survivors who raised the flag on a bond raising tour. They collected over $26 Billion towards the war effort.
Doc gave only 1 interview after the war, married his childhood sweetheart, played himself in John Wayne's "Sands of Iwo Jima" along with the other two survivors. And passed away at the age of 70. He was the oldest and last remaining member of the flag raisers. His son was the person who wrote the book which eventually became "The Flags of our Fathers".

His citation for the Navy Cross:

For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy at Iwo Jima on Feb. 21, 1945 as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Rifle platoon. During a furious assault by his company upon a strongly defended enemy zone at the base of Mt. Suribachi, Bradley observed a Marine infantryman fall wounded in an open area under a pounding barrage by mortars, interlaced with a merciless crossfire from Machine guns.
With complete disregard for his own safety, he ran through the intense fire to the side of the fallen Marine, examined his wounds and ascertained that an immediate administration of plasma was necessary to save the man's life. Unwilling to subject any of his comrades to the danger to which he had so valiantly exposed himself, he signaled would-be assistants to remain where they were. Placing himself in a position to shield the wounded man, he tied a plasma unit to a rifle planted upright in the sand and continued his life saving mission.
The Marine's wounds bandaged and the condition of shock relieved by plasma, Bradley pulled the man thirty yards through intense enemy fire to a position of safety. His indomitable spirit, dauntless initiative, and heroic devotion to duty were an inspiration to those with who he served and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service.