National Defense

Three Soldiers Wounded In Iranian Strike Honored For Saving Fellow Americans

US Army Photo, Photo not from story

Three soldiers were awarded with Purple Hearts and given special recognition for their efforts providing aid to other wounded U.S. service members during an Iranian attack on a U.S. airbase.

The U.S. awarded Staff Sgt. Kalob Mitchell, Sgt. Xavier Jones and Spc. Nicholas Cabo of the 6th Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery Regiment with Purple Hearts for their efforts to help rescue others during a March 27 attack at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. At the ceremony, the trio’s Unit Commander, Capt. Tyler Ritter, read thank you notes from those  they saved, Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday.

Less than a month after the Iran War began, the “Alarm Red” siren turned on at the Prince Sultan Airbase, warning that an Iranian attack from across the Persian Gulf may be imminent, the outlet reported. Suddenly, a 550 lb. Iranian ballistic missile landed near their bunker, sending out shock and sonic waves.

“Everything went black,” Mitchell told Stars and Stripes. “We’d been hit.”

After another soldier awakened them, the three quickly sprung into action.

“[W]e heard screams from the opposite side of the bunker. Two soldiers, I’m not too sure who they were, had significant injuries; (we) ran over there, applied tourniquets, T Triple C (Tactical Combat Casualty Care), everything,” Mitchell recounted to Stars and Stripes.

Mitchell, Cabo, and Jones gave aid to a gravely injured soldier, treated one with a neck injury and helped calm another that became disoriented from the blast, the outlet reported.

“I think it was just the adrenaline because, after we woke up, I checked myself,” Cabo told Stars and Stripes, “I just saw that my leg was a little bit bleeding, so I didn’t really mind it. It wasn’t anything like crazy bleeding, so we just heard screams and went to go help those guys.”

It is unclear how many were wounded during the attack. As of Wednesday, the Defense Casualty Analysis System has recorded 21 killed and 865 wounded since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.

Multiple American military installations have been hit during the Iranian conflict. These strikes have amounted to billions of dollars of damage to military installations, embassies, and other diplomatic facilities. Hundreds of buildings within the American defense infrastructure have been damaged as a result.