On a
mission
in
Afghanistan,
then-Specialist
Jack
Bodani
was in
an
up-armored
humvee
column
when a
massive
explosion
ripped
through
his
vehicle,
engulfing
it in a
fireball.
Simultaneously,
automatic
weapons
fire and
well-aimed
mortar
rounds
began
hitting
dangerously
close to
the
convoy.
Bodani,
burned
on the
face and
neck
from the
conflagration,
got out
of the
vehicle
and
immediately
helped
another
trapped
soldier
escape.
Safely
evacuating
the
first
soldier
away
from the
vehicle,
Bodani
realized
there
was
another
unaccounted
for, so
he
disregarded
his own
wounds
and
again
ran back
to the
burning
vehicle.
At the
humvee,
the heat
of the
fire
reached
a
critical
temperature
and
ordinance
and
rifle
ammunition
began
exploding
in every
direction.
From the
east,
insurgent
attacker
became
increasingly
accurate
with
their
weapons
fire.
Ignoring
all of
this,
Bodani,
and with
the aid
of
another,
extracted
the
dazed
soldier.
Still in
the
height
of the
ambush
and far
from
safety,
Bodani
reached
for a
rifle at
the
casualty
collection
point
and
provided
vital
security
from the
brazen
enemy
fighters.
Because
of
Bodani’s
brave
acts,
the
wounded
soldiers
survived
to
receive
a
medevac
and
receive
the
urgent
care
they
needed.
Then-Specialist
Jack
Bodani
was
awarded
the
Bronze
Star
with
Valor
for his
courageous
actions.
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