Two Heroes

Remember hearing a few months ago about the two helicopter pilots who rescued an injured soldier in Iraq? One of those pilots was from here - Liberty's neighboring town of Dayton, Texas.

Kevin Purtee has been honored many times since, including a declaration of a special day in his honor about a month or so ago. A couple of weeks ago there was a dedication of the flag and memorial to all U.S. Vets which was built at an intersection in Dayton. As part of the dedication ceremony, Kevin Purtee flew an Apache over the ceremony. This week he'll be the official Grand Marshall of the Trinity Valley Expo, along with the Clydesdales - a big deal in a small town.


Apache pilots save critically-wounded Soldier with unorthodox evacuation
By Staff Sgt. Lorin T. Smith36th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

Chief Warrant Officer-4 Kevin Purtee (left) and Chief Warrant Officer-2 Allen Crist, Company B, 1st Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment (Attack), man the AH-64 helicopter they used to help save the life of a critically wounded Soldier. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Randall Stillinger)

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq (7/24/2007) – Two pilots from Company B, 1st Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment (Attack), 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, risked their lives in an unorthodox casualty evacuation to transport a critically-wounded Soldier in an AH-64A helicopter during a firefight in Ramadi, Iraq, June 30.

Chief Warrant Officer-4 Kevin Purtee and Chief Warrant Officer-2 Allen Crist, two Apache helicopter aviators flying their last combat mission, are credited with assuring a Soldier of Company A, 1st Battalion, 77th Armor, of prompt medical care by their actions. The Soldier had been shot in the face and the arm, and needed to be evacuated from a raging battle near Donkey Island in Ramadi.

The pilots learned that more than 40 minutes had elapsed since the ground unit had called for the medical evacuation aircraft to transport wounded Soldiers to the hospital at Camp Ar Ramadi. Chief Purtee, from Houston, Texas, was the pilot, which is commonly referred to as the "back-seater. " Chief Crist, from Warrensburg, Mo., was the copilot/gunner, or "front-seater. " Chief Purtee asked Chief Crist if he felt comfortable giving up his seat for the critically-wounded Soldier for the quick flight back to the camp.

"Absolutely, " Chief Crist emphatically answered. Chief Purtee made the decision that to save the Soldier’s life, Chief Crist would fly on the wing of the aircraft on the way to the hospital.

Chief Crist and three other infantrymen lifted the wounded Soldier up into the Apache’s front seat. Chief Crist strapped him in.

"He was bandaged up, and blood was all over him," Chief Crist recalled.

Chief Crist then went to the left side of the aircraft and ran a tether to the aircraft and hooked it on his air warrior vest. He sat on the small wing of the Apache and placed his feet on a narrow walkway lining the fuselage. He knocked on the window to let Chief Purtee know that he was in position and ready for the flight.

Chief Purtee said that he felt more nervous than Chief Crist did during the flight.

"I had my copilot strapped to the side of the aircraft and a critically-wounded Soldier in the front seat, and we were leaving a very dangerous area," Chief Purtee said. "It wasn’t a long flight, but it felt like it took forever."

Chief Crist said flying outside the aircraft was similar to "sitting in the back of a truck going down the highway." The flight to Camp Ar Ramadi lasted just a few minutes. They reached the medical pad, and Chief Crist stayed with the wounded Soldier while medical personnel waited for the ambulance to move him to the hospital.

"I eventually had to get a guy at the pad to talk to him," Chief Crist recounted. "I knew we were going to go back out [to the battle in Ramadi], and I wanted to keep my head right."
Once the wounded Soldier had been safely removed from of the aircraft, the pilots climbed back in and flew back to the battle.

The next day, the crew found out that the Soldier had been moved to the hospital at LSA Anaconda, and they decided to visit him. His jaw had been wired shut, but medical staff gave him a pad to write on.

"Thank you," he wrote. "Sorry for messing up your helicopter."

The pilots learned the Soldier wanted to be a helicopter pilot and was planning to take the aviator test in a couple of weeks.

"We did a little recruiting to get him to join the Texas Army National Guard," Chief Purtee said. They gave him a Company B flight patch and took some photos.

Having a wounded Soldier in the cockpit while the copilot rides on the outside of the aircraft is unorthodox, but Chief Purtee said he would rather do that than watch another Soldier on the ground die.

"We have seen the tragedy of watching Soldiers on the ground waiting for MEDEVAC," Chief Purtee said. "There is no more hopeless feeling than watching the guys who need help not get it, and I’m tired of that, and that’s why we made our choice to go in and do what we did."

The two pilots said they didn’t see themselves as heroes. They said the real hero in this story was the Soldier who was shot while engaging the enemy.

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Our Second Hero

Last Sunday afternoon in Iraq 22-year old Marine Lance Corporal Jeremy Burris rescued two of his buddies who had been hit by roadside bombs. He got them both to the Medevac helicopter and returned to his vehicle to retrieve some tools when he stepped on another IED they had not seen. He died instantly.

Jeremy is one of seven children, all homeschooled here in Liberty. A brother and a sister are also in the military - Army and Navy.

Arrangements have not been made yet because the family does not yet know when Jeremy's body will be returned to Liberty, but I bet when he is returned the streets will be lined with patriotic, thankful, heartbroken people, to bring him home.

Blast Kills Marine from Liberty
By: Paul S. Martinez, The Enterprise
10/10/2007

Lance Cpl. Jeremy W. Burris, 22, helped injured U.S. Marines out of a vehicle hit by an explosion, then fell victim to a second bomb.

The 10th area soldier to die in Iraq was described as man of great faith who always "lived what he talked."U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jeremy W. Burris, 22, of Liberty was killed in Iraq Monday, according to a Department of Defense news release. Burris was driving a patrol vehicle, accompanied by two other Marines, when they hit an explosive device hidden in the road. Burris was not injured as seriously in the initial blast, and he helped get the wounded Marines out of the damaged vehicle. Burris returned to the disabled vehicle to retrieve some equipment and detonated a second hidden explosive, killing him instantly, according to his father, Brent Burris.The incident occurred near the city of Al Qaim in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, near the Syrian border. Brent Burris said the military has not told him when the body will return to Southeast Texas, and no funeral arrangements have been made.His son was fulfilling a longtime desire to be a Marine, Brent Burris said.Jeremy Burris - the oldest of seven children, four brothers and two sisters - had lived in Liberty since the age of 12.He proclaimed on his MySpace page: "Born and raised in Texas and proud of it." Burris attended Cornerstone Church, a non-denominational church in Liberty. Cornerstone Church pastor Mike Glazener said Burris was a leader who influenced others."He was a precious young man who touched many lives," the pastor said.

Jeremy Burris enjoyed playing guitar and singing, he said on his MySpace page.He led the praise and worship sessions for the youth group at Cornerstone Church, and was one of the guitar players during the main services, Glazener said.Burris was homeschooled in Liberty. When he finished school, he went to Tacoma, Wash., to participate in a Christian discipleship program called "The Core."

He stayed in Washington state for almost two years before enlisting in the Marine Corps about 1½ years ago.Burris' MySpace page blog has a Sept. 7 entry titled "The Desert."In it, he writes about remaining strong in his faith in an environment not necessarily conducive to Christian morals - a U.S. Marine Corps unit in a war zone."When you're surrounded by aggressive, outgoing people it's hard to be bold, but I've never been ashamed of my faith," he stated in the blog."I don't go around preaching, but my faith comes out in the way I act and talk every day and everyone knows where I stand. In fact, my nickname around here is 'Jesus.' I'm kinda proud of that!"

Updated 10/09/2007 11:22:06 PM CDT
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