WEBVTT - Alwyn Cashe: Into the Fire 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:20.796 Pushkin Hello, Hello. Before we get on with our show, 0:00:21.076 --> 0:00:23.596 I want you to know that your Pushkin Plus subscription 0:00:23.716 --> 0:00:27.476 grants you early access to Medal of Honor episodes one 0:00:27.516 --> 0:00:30.556 week before they were released to the public. That's one 0:00:30.596 --> 0:00:34.076 week of exclusive access. If you want to listen to 0:00:34.156 --> 0:00:37.836 more episodes a week before they're widely available, sign up 0:00:37.836 --> 0:00:41.956 for Pushkin Plus on Apple Podcasts or by visiting Pushkin, 0:00:42.316 --> 0:00:51.756 dot Fm, slash Plus. Now onto the episode. A dust 0:00:51.796 --> 0:00:55.916 storm rolled over the small city of Samara in central Iraq. 0:00:56.556 --> 0:00:59.436 The sky turned hazy red, and then as the sun set, 0:00:59.836 --> 0:01:03.756 a dark and moonless black. It was mid October two 0:01:03.796 --> 0:01:06.676 thousand and five, thirty one months since the US had 0:01:06.676 --> 0:01:11.356 invaded the country. American forces had captured Sata Mussein almost 0:01:11.396 --> 0:01:14.876 two years earlier, and still the war dragged on. 0:01:15.676 --> 0:01:17.876 A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as 0:01:17.956 --> 0:01:22.676 large as California could be longer and more difficult than 0:01:22.716 --> 0:01:27.116 some predict, and helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and 0:01:27.156 --> 0:01:30.596 free country will require our sustained commitment. 0:01:32.516 --> 0:01:36.036 American soldiers were settled into dozens of forward operating bases 0:01:36.076 --> 0:01:39.876 around a rock. Every day was a combination of monotony 0:01:40.316 --> 0:01:44.436 and dread. On that black October night, a convoy of 0:01:44.476 --> 0:01:48.516 two American Bradley fighting vehicles traveled through the dust storm 0:01:48.836 --> 0:01:52.556 up an unlit road. A Bradley is an armored personnel 0:01:52.636 --> 0:01:56.076 carrier that rolls forward on tracks, not wheels. It has 0:01:56.116 --> 0:01:58.916 a troop compartment in the back and a gun turret 0:01:58.956 --> 0:02:02.716 at the front. Bradley's were mostly used for scouting missions, 0:02:02.956 --> 0:02:06.916 and this night was one of those routine The Army 0:02:06.956 --> 0:02:10.356 troops stationed nearby had done the same trip dozens, if 0:02:10.356 --> 0:02:14.836 not hundreds of times in the balance between monotony and dread. 0:02:15.556 --> 0:02:21.356 This was monotony until it wasn't. Suddenly a deafening blast, 0:02:21.756 --> 0:02:25.196 a fiery explosion illuminated the night. The first of the 0:02:25.236 --> 0:02:29.876 two Bradleys had hit an ied, an improvised explosive device. 0:02:30.636 --> 0:02:33.436 If you've been watching from a distance that night, here's 0:02:33.516 --> 0:02:36.836 what you would have seen. An armored vehicle engulfed in fire, 0:02:37.156 --> 0:02:39.596 a soldier climbing out of a hatch and pulling a 0:02:39.596 --> 0:02:43.196 burning man to safety, then that soldier too, catching fire, 0:02:43.756 --> 0:02:47.436 a column of flame against the dark night sky. Over 0:02:47.476 --> 0:02:50.076 the roar of the explosion, you'd hear the screams of 0:02:50.116 --> 0:02:54.316 soldiers trapped inside the vehicle and then you'd see that 0:02:54.436 --> 0:03:01.676 first man turned back to the fire, him Malcolm Gladwell. 0:03:01.756 --> 0:03:06.636 And this is Medal of Honor Stories of courage. The 0:03:06.636 --> 0:03:09.636 Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the 0:03:09.716 --> 0:03:14.196 United States, awarded for gallantry and bravery in combat with 0:03:14.316 --> 0:03:17.436 the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty. 0:03:17.796 --> 0:03:20.716 Each candidate must be approved all the way up the 0:03:20.796 --> 0:03:23.916 chain of command, from the supervisory officer in the field 0:03:24.276 --> 0:03:28.436 to the White House. This show is about those heroes, 0:03:28.876 --> 0:03:32.156 what they did, what it meant, and what their stories 0:03:32.196 --> 0:03:36.516 tell us about the nature of courage. Each Medal of 0:03:36.556 --> 0:03:40.956 Honor action is by definition heroic, but the story of 0:03:41.036 --> 0:03:44.756 Sergeant first Class Allwin Cash is about a very specific 0:03:44.956 --> 0:03:50.916 element of heroism. Sacrifice, not the sacrifice that comes with 0:03:51.036 --> 0:03:53.556 being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or 0:03:53.676 --> 0:03:56.356 is the second decision that later turns out to have 0:03:56.396 --> 0:04:01.916 been courageous and fatal, a kind of sacrifice that's more intentional, 0:04:02.916 --> 0:04:06.676 more deliberate. We talk a lot about the acts of 0:04:06.716 --> 0:04:11.796 bravery for which people receive something a metal recognition, but 0:04:11.876 --> 0:04:16.036 there's always that flip side when someone loses something too 0:04:16.356 --> 0:04:20.956 the sacrifice. It can be surprisingly easy to gloss over 0:04:21.196 --> 0:04:24.116 what our heroes are giving up or the pain they're 0:04:24.156 --> 0:04:28.076 going through. But it's hard to miss in the story 0:04:28.916 --> 0:04:41.556 of Alwen Cash. If you want to get a good 0:04:41.596 --> 0:04:44.916 sense of who Alwen Cash was in Iraq, you need 0:04:44.956 --> 0:04:47.796 to talk to the people who served with him. General 0:04:47.836 --> 0:04:50.316 Gary Britto would be at the top of that list. 0:04:50.676 --> 0:04:54.036 We have some ordinary people that just do some extraordinary 0:04:54.036 --> 0:04:57.076 things when unexpected, and Cash was one of those. 0:04:57.796 --> 0:05:01.116 Brideau was Alwin's battalion commander in two thousand and five. 0:05:01.676 --> 0:05:04.276 Now he's a four star general in charge of training 0:05:04.476 --> 0:05:09.476 and leadership development across the entire Army, active Duty, National Guard, 0:05:09.596 --> 0:05:13.596 and reserves. He guides and shapes the culture of the Army. 0:05:14.236 --> 0:05:16.636 If anyone can tell you what makes a good soldier, 0:05:16.956 --> 0:05:20.556 it's Brito. He knew and liked Olwen, not just as 0:05:20.556 --> 0:05:22.756 a sergeant, but as a person. 0:05:23.356 --> 0:05:29.436 Very unassuming, very professional, newest stuff. And I had yet, 0:05:29.476 --> 0:05:32.996 and I'll use the word the gruffness that I respected 0:05:33.116 --> 0:05:36.516 and expected on noncommissioned officers. 0:05:36.556 --> 0:05:39.436 A non commissioned officer is one who hasn't gone to 0:05:39.476 --> 0:05:43.116 college or through officer training. Cash had enlisted in the 0:05:43.276 --> 0:05:45.436 Army right out of high school. He had grown up 0:05:45.476 --> 0:05:47.676 in a big family in a small town in Florida. 0:05:48.236 --> 0:05:50.596 He kept his dark hair in a buzz cut fade 0:05:50.916 --> 0:05:53.996 and wore a modest mustache. He was a country guy 0:05:53.996 --> 0:05:55.436 at heart, like. 0:05:55.436 --> 0:05:58.316 The fish, like to hunt, and he would bend your 0:05:58.316 --> 0:06:00.636 ear on that if you've given him an opportunity to 0:06:00.676 --> 0:06:00.956 do so. 0:06:01.996 --> 0:06:05.596 Albyn worked his way up the ranks, a real soldier's soldier. 0:06:06.516 --> 0:06:09.676 For a time, he was a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Georgia, 0:06:09.716 --> 0:06:13.116 training troops. He was all about the basics, making sure 0:06:13.236 --> 0:06:17.356 everyone had the foundations down. Then he pushed his guys 0:06:17.436 --> 0:06:22.276 beyond those foundations to excellence. He was known for his 0:06:22.396 --> 0:06:26.436 brutally honest sense of humor. Nothing shook him. But the 0:06:26.476 --> 0:06:29.116 thing every person who served with Alwin will tell you 0:06:29.756 --> 0:06:32.276 he truly cared for the soldiers in his command. 0:06:32.836 --> 0:06:36.516 What I respected and I saw it shine and start 0:06:36.516 --> 0:06:39.556 any cash was the ability to connect to his soldiers. 0:06:40.116 --> 0:06:42.436 A platoon was about thirty five years people was ill, 0:06:42.796 --> 0:06:45.556 but he knew them, knew them by their name, knew 0:06:45.596 --> 0:06:48.396 them by their nickname, knew what was going on at home, 0:06:48.476 --> 0:06:50.196 disconnected to his troops. 0:06:50.596 --> 0:06:52.956 When he deployed to Iraq for the second time, in 0:06:52.956 --> 0:06:55.436 two thousand and five. The men who served with him 0:06:55.636 --> 0:06:58.436 saw him the way that General Breto did, as someone 0:06:58.436 --> 0:07:00.436 who connected, who cared. 0:07:01.356 --> 0:07:03.396 He was more like that big big brother. 0:07:03.916 --> 0:07:06.636 This is Gary Mills, who was in Alwen's platoon. 0:07:07.036 --> 0:07:08.596 You know he didn't tell me Who's something that he 0:07:08.596 --> 0:07:10.076 wouldn't do. I think it was a type of leader 0:07:10.076 --> 0:07:12.556 that you can argue with him, but one minute later 0:07:12.596 --> 0:07:13.476 you're going to have a beer. 0:07:14.236 --> 0:07:16.876 Alvin was only thirty five, but he'd seen a lot 0:07:16.956 --> 0:07:19.636 during his years in the service. He knew how hard 0:07:19.676 --> 0:07:21.876 it was to live an army life and have a family. 0:07:22.476 --> 0:07:24.396 He had a wife and three young kids back in 0:07:24.436 --> 0:07:28.396 the States. Here's Douglas Dodge, who was the second squad 0:07:28.476 --> 0:07:29.516 leader of his platoon. 0:07:30.116 --> 0:07:34.636 I was going through some marital problems and Sergeant Cash 0:07:34.756 --> 0:07:38.956 actually called my wife for Iraq and talked to her 0:07:38.996 --> 0:07:42.036 at length, and then came to my chew our little 0:07:42.436 --> 0:07:45.396 sleeping area and told me, hey, Dodge, go call your wife. 0:07:45.396 --> 0:07:47.116 And I was like, why, what are you talking about? 0:07:47.156 --> 0:07:49.436 And he said, I just had a long conversation with 0:07:49.476 --> 0:07:50.956 her about stuff that's going on with you two. I 0:07:50.996 --> 0:07:52.876 know you're having problems, and it's I want you to 0:07:52.956 --> 0:07:56.036 have your head clear while we're out here doing stuff. 0:07:56.276 --> 0:07:58.876 At the time, I was kind of angry because I 0:07:58.916 --> 0:08:02.196 was tired. I just wanted to sleep, But he had 0:08:02.236 --> 0:08:04.716 taken his time when he could have been sleeping, but 0:08:04.796 --> 0:08:07.756 he took his precious time to try to take care 0:08:07.796 --> 0:08:07.996 of me. 0:08:09.716 --> 0:08:13.756 So that's Olwen invested in his soldiers as whole people, 0:08:14.156 --> 0:08:16.756 willing to give up his personal time to help them. 0:08:16.876 --> 0:08:20.356 Unsolicited marital advice. It's not maybe the first thing you 0:08:20.356 --> 0:08:22.156 think of when you think of a hero, but it 0:08:22.196 --> 0:08:24.836 has everything to do with what will come next. 0:08:35.756 --> 0:08:38.276 One thing that really stuck out to me that evening 0:08:39.636 --> 0:08:43.316 was pitch pitch black outside. All the nights I was out, 0:08:43.476 --> 0:08:45.556 that was probably the darkest one. 0:08:46.156 --> 0:08:49.276 Forward Operating Base Mackenzie was in the middle of the 0:08:49.276 --> 0:08:53.276 desert north of Baghdad. You can picture it, hot, sandy, 0:08:53.596 --> 0:08:57.836 relentlessly beige concrete bunkers. The more than four hundred men 0:08:57.876 --> 0:09:02.236 who were stationed there lived in contained housing units trailers really. 0:09:02.716 --> 0:09:04.836 While some of the other American bases in the region 0:09:05.076 --> 0:09:08.116 had seen very little fighting, that wasn't the case here. 0:09:09.556 --> 0:09:12.996 Had been high for a while. Jimmy Hathaway was a 0:09:12.996 --> 0:09:16.636 company commander at FOB Mackenzie, as he remembers that things 0:09:16.676 --> 0:09:19.836 had been dicey in the Area of Operations, or as 0:09:19.836 --> 0:09:22.356 they referred to it, the AO for months. 0:09:23.396 --> 0:09:25.956 We'd just come off of racky elections that year. It 0:09:25.996 --> 0:09:28.476 had been a pretty rough time. Starting in September. 0:09:28.956 --> 0:09:31.756 There had been skirmishes around the base with the American 0:09:31.796 --> 0:09:35.596 troops engaging with small arms fire or IEDs a few 0:09:35.676 --> 0:09:38.756 days out of the week. The roads weren't safe, so 0:09:38.836 --> 0:09:41.636 the troops had to secure the roots for supplies coming in. 0:09:42.396 --> 0:09:45.156 We'd had a pretty big incident with a convoy that 0:09:45.196 --> 0:09:48.716 had been ambushed, and we knew that anytime a resupply 0:09:48.796 --> 0:09:51.996 convoy came into our AO that there was potential for 0:09:52.796 --> 0:09:56.036 loss of life, there's potential for damage to the vehicles 0:09:56.236 --> 0:09:57.636 if we didn't go out and secure it. 0:09:58.796 --> 0:10:01.596 The night of October seventeenth, two thousand and five, a 0:10:01.676 --> 0:10:04.836 patrol of two Bradley fighting vehicles was going to do 0:10:04.996 --> 0:10:07.956 just that, drive the main supply route to make sure 0:10:07.996 --> 0:10:12.036 it was clear, then drive right back. Leon Matthias was 0:10:12.156 --> 0:10:13.796 Alwens team leader at the base. 0:10:14.836 --> 0:10:18.436 I remember specifically the weather being really really bad, so 0:10:18.836 --> 0:10:21.916 it was like a dust storm moving through the area 0:10:22.276 --> 0:10:26.556 and there was redy hair, So basically metowacs weren't supposed 0:10:26.556 --> 0:10:28.476 to fly during that time period. But I just remember 0:10:28.716 --> 0:10:30.516 it was a night patrol and we have to go 0:10:30.596 --> 0:10:33.476 out because of a logistical convoy was coming in the 0:10:33.476 --> 0:10:34.156 following day. 0:10:35.036 --> 0:10:37.476 Alwyn was in the first vehicle of the patrol. He 0:10:37.596 --> 0:10:38.476 wasn't supposed to be. 0:10:39.076 --> 0:10:41.596 So normally on the patrol, the Petunia would lead out, 0:10:41.596 --> 0:10:43.316 so I would be the lead patrol and then Starting 0:10:43.316 --> 0:10:46.076 Cash would be the last vehicle in the convoy. But 0:10:46.196 --> 0:10:48.956 that night I had just recently come back off of leave, 0:10:49.436 --> 0:10:52.036 and Starting Cash said, hey, sir, I know you're just 0:10:52.116 --> 0:10:52.796 back off of leave. 0:10:52.836 --> 0:10:55.356 I'm gonna lead the patrol tonight. It was a classic 0:10:55.396 --> 0:10:58.276 example of Cash going above and beyond for somebody else. 0:10:58.916 --> 0:11:00.996 So he drives, he drives around me, and I see 0:11:01.036 --> 0:11:03.076 him drive out, so I get back on my track 0:11:03.116 --> 0:11:05.196 and so I am now behind him driving down the 0:11:05.276 --> 0:11:07.636 road and we're going really, really slow, just because of 0:11:07.676 --> 0:11:08.356 the visibility. 0:11:09.116 --> 0:11:11.516 There were nine men in the lead bradley up front, 0:11:11.876 --> 0:11:14.316 there was Alwy and a gunner in the turret, plus 0:11:14.356 --> 0:11:18.036 a driver in the troop compartment. In the back, there 0:11:18.036 --> 0:11:22.516 were six men, an Iraqi interpreter and five soldiers, including 0:11:22.556 --> 0:11:24.476 Douglas and Gary Mills. 0:11:24.956 --> 0:11:27.756 We were just in the back, just having funl like usual, 0:11:27.956 --> 0:11:29.756 just getting my mind into you know, what was going 0:11:29.796 --> 0:11:34.556 to happen. Then and boom, it kind of happened quick. 0:11:35.596 --> 0:11:37.876 The Bradley had run over an Ied. 0:11:39.356 --> 0:11:42.036 We had been hit by enough IED's already that you 0:11:42.116 --> 0:11:44.076 knew when you heard it what it was. And I 0:11:44.196 --> 0:11:46.996 heard that slap. But then in the next instant, I 0:11:47.036 --> 0:11:49.276 was knocked unconscious. I was thrown into the ceiling of 0:11:49.276 --> 0:11:51.996 the Bradley, and I don't know how long I was unconscious. 0:11:51.996 --> 0:11:56.356 For Bradley's are armored vehicles. They're built to run over 0:11:56.396 --> 0:11:59.556 things like IED's and stay in the road. But something 0:11:59.836 --> 0:12:00.796 was different that night. 0:12:01.556 --> 0:12:02.276 But I woke up. 0:12:02.316 --> 0:12:05.116 Then we were all on fire. 0:12:06.476 --> 0:12:10.236 The fuel cell of the Bradley had ignited. Fire was 0:12:10.276 --> 0:12:12.396 surging upwards from the bottom of the vehicle. 0:12:13.196 --> 0:12:16.276 I am watching this vehicle in flames, so it wasn't 0:12:16.316 --> 0:12:18.116 as if it was a slow burn. It was literally 0:12:18.676 --> 0:12:21.716 He saw the explosion and the vehicle itself was in flames. 0:12:22.996 --> 0:12:25.836 Alwen wasn't injured in the blast, but as the fuel 0:12:25.916 --> 0:12:29.316 cell drained, he was drenched in gasoline. He knew what 0:12:29.356 --> 0:12:33.036 that meant he also could go up in flames at 0:12:33.076 --> 0:12:37.356 any time. Alwen got to the driver's hatch and opened it. 0:12:37.876 --> 0:12:40.436 He pulled the driver to safety, but the driver was 0:12:40.476 --> 0:12:43.316 on fire, so now Alwan was on fire as well. 0:12:43.596 --> 0:12:46.316 He extinguished the flames and then turned to the back 0:12:46.356 --> 0:12:49.356 of the bradley. There were six men trapped back there. 0:12:49.836 --> 0:12:52.396 The compartment was in flames. It was an oven. 0:12:53.156 --> 0:12:55.996 The first thing I remember is the pain from being 0:12:56.036 --> 0:12:58.356 on fire, and I could hear everybody screaming, and I 0:12:58.476 --> 0:13:00.996 just climbed up onto the bench seat because the floor 0:13:01.156 --> 0:13:04.516 was all fire and you couldn't see anything. All I 0:13:04.516 --> 0:13:05.956 could see was an orange glow. 0:13:06.716 --> 0:13:09.516 Alwin didn't hesitate. He went straight to the back of 0:13:09.516 --> 0:13:13.516 the vehicle. He'd already sustained second and third degree burns 0:13:13.876 --> 0:13:17.036 inside the compartment. Douglas reached for a tool and pried 0:13:17.076 --> 0:13:19.516 at the door, and I managed to. 0:13:19.436 --> 0:13:21.596 Get the troop door open, and I just kind of 0:13:21.596 --> 0:13:26.116 spilled out of the bradley onto the back road, and 0:13:26.156 --> 0:13:28.316 that's when I saw Sergeant Cash at the back of 0:13:28.356 --> 0:13:28.876 the bradley. 0:13:29.596 --> 0:13:32.796 Alwyn's uniform had burned so badly that it had melted 0:13:32.836 --> 0:13:33.676 onto his body. 0:13:34.276 --> 0:13:37.476 It was very surreal because he had his helmet on, 0:13:37.916 --> 0:13:40.436 his body armor on, and his boots on, but he 0:13:40.476 --> 0:13:42.476 didn't have anything else on because they had been burned 0:13:42.476 --> 0:13:45.596 off with him. And the only thing he asked me 0:13:45.716 --> 0:13:48.236 was where the boys at? And I just kind of 0:13:48.236 --> 0:13:50.876 looked at him and looked at the bradley and he said, hey, 0:13:51.036 --> 0:13:53.916 I get the boys out, and then he just instantly 0:13:54.436 --> 0:13:55.396 started climbing. 0:13:55.156 --> 0:14:00.836 In into the fire with no protection. Leon frantically called 0:14:00.876 --> 0:14:02.876 back to base. Then he and the men in this 0:14:03.036 --> 0:14:05.716 second vehicle raced towards the burning Bradley. 0:14:06.236 --> 0:14:08.756 By started cash. He's kind of the one that's going 0:14:08.796 --> 0:14:12.316 back from the Bradley, pulling people out one by one, 0:14:12.476 --> 0:14:14.516 and he just goes back over and over again. 0:14:17.516 --> 0:14:19.796 Alwen wasn't going to stop until every one of his 0:14:19.836 --> 0:14:22.956 boys was accounted for. He went in once and helped 0:14:23.036 --> 0:14:25.996 soldiers escape the troop compartment, and then he noticed that 0:14:26.076 --> 0:14:28.636 two others were missing, so he went back into the 0:14:28.636 --> 0:14:32.076 inferno again to pull them out, but where was the interpreter? 0:14:32.916 --> 0:14:35.556 Alwen went back into Bradley another time. 0:14:36.316 --> 0:14:38.676 The last person that got out was the interpreter, and 0:14:39.036 --> 0:14:41.196 his body was so lifeless he just pretty much drug 0:14:41.276 --> 0:14:42.596 him out of that track. 0:14:43.756 --> 0:14:46.596 Alwen had been critically injured back when he'd saved the 0:14:46.676 --> 0:14:49.836 first man, the driver, But he made the decision to 0:14:49.916 --> 0:14:54.436 go back into the burning troop compartment five separate times. 0:14:54.916 --> 0:14:58.036 He knew exactly what kind of sacrifice he was making, 0:14:58.516 --> 0:15:04.156 yet he did it willingly, methodically. By the time Gary 0:15:04.196 --> 0:15:08.356 Mills reached Olwen, seventy two percent of Alwen's body was 0:15:08.396 --> 0:15:10.876 covered in second in third degree burns. 0:15:11.316 --> 0:15:15.556 I seen sorry Cash laying on the ground now that 0:15:15.596 --> 0:15:17.836 he was burnt and everything, and he was just trying 0:15:17.876 --> 0:15:20.396 to make sure they hate, Hey, your guys all right, 0:15:20.436 --> 0:15:24.036 And I'm like, are you okay? You know, I mean 0:15:24.076 --> 0:15:27.036 you you're burnt. I mean, you're dude, worse than I am. 0:15:27.716 --> 0:15:29.596 But he was just making sure that we was okay. 0:15:30.876 --> 0:15:33.796 The forward operating base was only two miles away, but 0:15:33.876 --> 0:15:36.636 there was a dust stone. Remember, Everything seemed to be 0:15:36.716 --> 0:15:41.676 moving more slowly than usual. Finally, the metovac helicopters arrived. 0:15:42.596 --> 0:15:45.916 The interpreter had died at the scene, Several of the 0:15:45.996 --> 0:15:51.116 soldiers barely hung onto life all when included. Nevertheless, he 0:15:51.316 --> 0:15:53.716 was the last one to get on the metavac. He 0:15:53.796 --> 0:15:56.596 wanted to see everyone else get taken care of first. 0:15:57.236 --> 0:16:01.036 He waited until they all were safe, and even then 0:16:01.436 --> 0:16:02.676 he wouldn't get on a stretcher. 0:16:03.356 --> 0:16:06.116 He was like, no, I'm walking to this helicopter because 0:16:06.116 --> 0:16:11.636 if he wanted to walk off the battlefield, the. 0:16:11.636 --> 0:16:13.756 Meta of Acts lifted off to the highest level of 0:16:13.836 --> 0:16:18.036 triage facility nearby. Douglas was with Olwen. 0:16:18.276 --> 0:16:22.236 And there they began triaging and treating everybody, starting Cash. 0:16:22.316 --> 0:16:24.756 The whole time there I could hear him yelling, well, 0:16:24.996 --> 0:16:27.796 how are these are my guys? You know what's going 0:16:27.836 --> 0:16:28.956 on with them? Are they okay? 0:16:28.996 --> 0:16:31.916 Where are they at the most badly burned men were 0:16:31.916 --> 0:16:35.476 flown to Germany and then to Texas for more specialized care. 0:16:36.076 --> 0:16:39.796 Alwin was one of them, and Gary Mills was two. 0:16:39.956 --> 0:16:43.196 As soon as he was able, he insisted on seeing Alwen. 0:16:43.836 --> 0:16:46.036 They told me, no, I'm not supposed to go and 0:16:46.156 --> 0:16:49.356 visit you know anybody like no, I'm going to visit. 0:16:49.436 --> 0:16:54.756 I visited Saryn Cash and it was funny because, like 0:16:54.796 --> 0:16:58.876 I said, we were both messed up, and he still 0:16:58.916 --> 0:17:02.676 had jokes and just making sure I'm good it hits 0:17:02.716 --> 0:17:06.436 you because it was like, man, even in how bad 0:17:06.516 --> 0:17:09.916 a moment, it doesn't matter about it, no matter about 0:17:09.916 --> 0:17:10.636 everybody else. 0:17:11.996 --> 0:17:14.236 There was hope that all of the soldiers might make it, 0:17:15.156 --> 0:17:15.996 until there wasn't. 0:17:16.556 --> 0:17:19.316 That's when we started losing people and it just got 0:17:19.316 --> 0:17:20.396 hard and hard every day. 0:17:21.636 --> 0:17:25.156 Of the nine people in the Bradley, only three would survive. 0:17:25.716 --> 0:17:28.876 General Gary Britto remembers waiting to get news from the 0:17:28.876 --> 0:17:30.356 men in the hospital. 0:17:31.196 --> 0:17:34.716 Every single night. Did not want to get that phone 0:17:34.716 --> 0:17:38.076 call that somebody passed, and we did, Hey, how's he 0:17:38.156 --> 0:17:43.276 doing well? Staff Sergeant George Alexander this first one, second call, 0:17:43.876 --> 0:17:47.556 Doc Robinson, third call, especially Darren holl just kept up 0:17:47.556 --> 0:17:48.916 at night. We just didn't want to get it what 0:17:48.996 --> 0:17:51.796 you did. So we were really really just hoping, thank 0:17:51.836 --> 0:17:54.636 fingers crossed, will he survived, Just holding on for hope. Okay, 0:17:54.676 --> 0:17:56.436 don't die, don't die, don't die. 0:17:57.636 --> 0:18:00.916 In the hospital, Albyn kept his sense of humor and 0:18:00.956 --> 0:18:04.676 his sense of duty intact. Everyone who loved him knew 0:18:04.676 --> 0:18:08.156 how strong he was. As the weeks passed, they kept 0:18:08.236 --> 0:18:10.836 up hope, but he had the worst of the burns, 0:18:11.796 --> 0:18:15.636 and on November eighth, two thousand and five, Albin Cash 0:18:15.716 --> 0:18:20.196 died in the hospital in San Antonio. He was the 0:18:20.276 --> 0:18:23.196 last man to have gotten on the METAVAC and the 0:18:23.276 --> 0:18:26.556 last man to succumb to his injuries. He held out 0:18:26.996 --> 0:18:27.956 for as long as he could. 0:18:28.996 --> 0:18:31.716 He would say, it's going to be hard coming home 0:18:32.036 --> 0:18:35.236 without the guys you came here with. And who would 0:18:35.276 --> 0:18:37.596 have known that he would have been one of those people. 0:18:40.676 --> 0:18:43.556 Almost immediately, Britto put in for Alwin to get the 0:18:43.596 --> 0:18:46.636 Silver Star, one of the Army's top awards for bravery. 0:18:46.996 --> 0:18:50.516 It's a couple notches below the Medal of Honor. Britto 0:18:50.636 --> 0:18:53.116 was still in Iraq, trying to keep his troops together, 0:18:53.236 --> 0:18:57.396 boost morale, just survived the deployment. Everyone was exhausted at 0:18:57.396 --> 0:19:00.716 that moment. The Silver Star for Alwin felt like the 0:19:00.836 --> 0:19:01.396 right idea. 0:19:02.156 --> 0:19:04.996 There was a sense of numbness, just combat fatigue, and 0:19:04.996 --> 0:19:06.796 I didn't see it. Then I see it now. 0:19:08.516 --> 0:19:11.196 Let me take a second to explain what differentiates the 0:19:11.236 --> 0:19:14.516 Silver Star from a Medal of Honor. A Silver Star 0:19:14.876 --> 0:19:19.156 is the Army's third highest decoration, given for distinguished gallantry 0:19:19.196 --> 0:19:23.356 in action. The next step up is a Distinguished Service Cross, 0:19:23.596 --> 0:19:28.156 given for extraordinary heroism in combat, and then sitting at 0:19:28.156 --> 0:19:30.316 the top of the heap is the Medal of Honor. 0:19:31.076 --> 0:19:35.036 Each one carries a huge amount of prestige, but the 0:19:35.036 --> 0:19:38.276 Medal of honor has a stringent set of criteria. The 0:19:38.316 --> 0:19:41.076 action comes at the risk of life and limb and 0:19:41.356 --> 0:19:43.876 above and beyond the call of duty. In other words, 0:19:44.196 --> 0:19:47.156 not something that your commanding officer could order you to do. 0:19:48.676 --> 0:19:53.956 Those requirements might sound general, but in reality they're punishingly specific. 0:19:54.596 --> 0:19:57.756 There aren't a huge variety of things that perfectly tick 0:19:57.916 --> 0:20:01.796 all of those boxes. The iconic medal of honor worthy 0:20:01.796 --> 0:20:05.316 action is throwing yourself on a grenade. It's an act 0:20:05.356 --> 0:20:08.916 of pure selflessness and courage, done at a moment when 0:20:08.956 --> 0:20:12.876 the enemy is in full attack. In fact, one hundred 0:20:12.956 --> 0:20:15.756 and forty seven of the men who have been awarded 0:20:15.796 --> 0:20:18.716 the medal received it for putting themselves in the way 0:20:18.716 --> 0:20:21.556 of a grenade, and we've only had grenade since World 0:20:21.556 --> 0:20:27.196 War One. What Alwen did sounds very much like throwing 0:20:27.316 --> 0:20:30.196 himself on a grenade, doesn't it an act of supreme 0:20:30.276 --> 0:20:34.516 self sacrifice on behalf of others at a time of peril. 0:20:34.636 --> 0:20:37.756 You can't walk into a fire thinking you're going to survive. 0:20:38.436 --> 0:20:42.276 Alwin's skin was charred, his lungs were failing, and yet 0:20:42.276 --> 0:20:46.156 he kept returning to the inferno, knowing what that meant. 0:20:46.916 --> 0:20:49.756 When Bretto and Alwen's family and friends thought about how 0:20:49.796 --> 0:20:52.836 best to honor Alwen. They began to think that maybe 0:20:52.876 --> 0:20:56.276 he deserved something more than a silver star. Maybe he 0:20:56.356 --> 0:20:59.636 deserved the highest of all military honors. 0:21:00.316 --> 0:21:02.636 It was all my mind, just wait on me, all 0:21:02.636 --> 0:21:04.116 my mind. So I sort of think about it, think 0:21:04.116 --> 0:21:06.596 about it, said, I got to do this, not for me, 0:21:06.956 --> 0:21:09.076 not for the unit, but for Cash in his troops. 0:21:09.876 --> 0:21:10.516 This is earned. 0:21:11.556 --> 0:21:15.156 But there was a catch, a crucial one. There was 0:21:15.196 --> 0:21:20.076 a third essential requirement for Medal of Honor eligibility. The 0:21:20.116 --> 0:21:22.876 act of bravery has to take place in the field 0:21:22.876 --> 0:21:27.116 of combat. That's why throwing yourself on a grenade fits. 0:21:27.516 --> 0:21:31.276 The enemy threw a grenade at you, but almends Bradley 0:21:31.556 --> 0:21:34.916 ran over an ied an explosive device that could have 0:21:34.916 --> 0:21:39.076 been put there hours or even days before. That's not combat. 0:21:40.116 --> 0:21:42.316 If Brito wanted to put his hero up for the 0:21:42.316 --> 0:21:46.196 greatest of military honors, he needed to know more about 0:21:46.196 --> 0:21:51.036 what happened on that black October night. Alwend Cash had 0:21:51.076 --> 0:21:53.916 fought to the death for his men, and now Brito 0:21:54.356 --> 0:21:56.156 was going to fight for him. 0:21:56.516 --> 0:21:59.276 I just did not know the process. Thought I did, 0:21:59.476 --> 0:22:01.076 but did not know the process. 0:22:01.556 --> 0:22:03.636 He had no idea. What a feat of endurance it 0:22:03.716 --> 0:22:20.036 was going to be. We'll be right back. The success 0:22:20.116 --> 0:22:24.316 of a Medal of honor recommendation hinges on the nomination package, 0:22:24.916 --> 0:22:30.436 which takes an enormous amount of research, paperwork, witness statements, hundreds, 0:22:30.476 --> 0:22:34.956 if not thousands of pages alone. Among military medals, the 0:22:34.996 --> 0:22:39.916 medal of honor requires quote incontestable proof of the performance 0:22:39.996 --> 0:22:43.836 of the meritorious conduct. That's one thing if you're a 0:22:43.836 --> 0:22:47.436 professional historian. It's another if you're employed full time by 0:22:47.436 --> 0:22:52.036 the United States Army, moving up the ranks protecting your country. 0:22:52.676 --> 0:22:56.436 Bretto was learning on the job an Army officer with 0:22:56.516 --> 0:22:58.676 a side gig as a detective. 0:22:58.876 --> 0:23:01.756 So was honored to be part of it, a little 0:23:01.836 --> 0:23:05.796 angry that it was taking long, partly because of my actions. 0:23:05.956 --> 0:23:09.076 I own that and not understanding what had to be done. 0:23:10.476 --> 0:23:12.276 I remember one time I even asked myself, Gee, why 0:23:12.276 --> 0:23:13.996