By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, June 30, 2006

Matt Millham / S&S Soldiers prepare to fire a volley during a 21-gun salute to Staff Sgt. Heath N. Craig, a member of the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), who died June 21 in Afghanistan during a mission to rescue two 10th Mountain Division soldiers who had been injured in combat.

As a combat medic, Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig understood that, sometimes, saving people means risking your own life.

Sometimes, the risk doesn’t pay off.

Craig, a member of the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and another soldier died the night of June 21 during a rescue mission near Naray, Afghanistan.

The night started off peacefully enough.

Craig had just gotten done chatting with his wife and playing peek-a-boo with his 1-year-old daughter, Leona, over a Web camera when the call came. Three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were critically wounded in a firefight near Naray.

“He always had missions that came up,” Craig’s wife, Judy Craig, said. “And that’s what happened. A mission came up, and he was ready.” The couple also have a 4-year-old son, Jonas.

Craig’s dustoff crew had been called to rescue the wounded. By the time Craig and his air ambulance arrived at the pickup point, one of the soldiers already was dead.

It was past dark at takeoff, and the terrain where they were headed made it impossible for the Black Hawk rescue helicopter to land.

That meant Craig would have to be lowered into the combat zone by a hoist. It was one of his least favorite things to do, said Capt. Angela Wagner, the rear detachment commander for the 159th Medical Company.

The battlefield still wasn’t secure, but Craig plunged in anyway. He secured the first soldier and got him safely into the hovering ambulance. That troop would make it out of Afghanistan alive.

But as Craig and the second patient were being lifted in the helicopter, the hoist malfunctioned.

“On the second try, I lost him,” Sgt. James Ramey, the helicopter’s crew chief, said in a letter that was read at Craig’s memorial ceremony Thursday.

Craig and the soldier he was rescuing, Pfc. Brian J. Bradbury, both died. Craig grew up in Virginia. Bradbury was from Saint Joseph, Mo.

“He gave his life saving another,” Wagner said.

Sgt. Krendra Jackson, one of Craig’s close friends, couldn’t keep herself from crying as she talked about her fallen comrade during the memorial service at Wiesbaden Army Airfield’s chapel.

She told how Craig, even after back surgery, would work tirelessly, laboring beyond his body’s limits, afraid that he might come off as a slacker. Jackson remembers telling him to take it easy. “He would look at me with those blue eyes and say, ‘My name’s not worthless.’”

Few in attendance could hold back their tears as Jackson recounted her friendship with Craig. “Judy, you once told us we acted like brother and sister. He was my brother,” she said. “He was our brother.”

Randy,

Thanks for the letter, I will be sure it gets added to the book that we are preparing for the family. He was indeed an incredible man and he will be sorely missed. The unit feels the loss, but we continue to drive on with our mission because we know that is what Heathe would have wanted. He truly was a hero doing hero's work and we will never forget our fallen comrade.

Heathe was buried outside of Nuremberg on the 5th of JUL with full honors. His whole family made it over from the States to take part in the ceremony and numerous unit members and 159th family were in attendance to pay their final respects.

I have fielded some requests from people asking what they can do for the family. We are in the process of establishing a charitable trust for Heathe's two young children. We are still working out some of the details, because Heathe's widow, Judy is a German citizen. If anyone is interested in contributing to the family, please see the note my wife prepared on behalf of the family.

Thanks again for your thoughtful note of condolence. It means a lot to us that others share in our grief.

Take care and DUSTOFF,

Rob

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:

Photo courtesy of Makonen Campbell Then-Staff Sgt. Makonen Campbell attends to a patient in Afghanistan. The flight medic earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing two troops in a separate incident. Sgt. 1st Class Makonen Campbell Unit: 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) Medals: Distinguished Flying Cross Earned: April 11, 2005, near Khost, Afghanistan

As the medical evacuation helicopter sped to the ridge where two wounded Special Operations Forces troops waited, the flight crew heard ominous sounds over the radio.

“The whole aircraft’s quiet, and one of the pilots is like, ‘I think that’s gunfire,’” said Sgt. 1st Class Makonen Campbell. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah. I think it is gunfire.’”

It was April 11, 2005. Taliban insurgents had ambushed Afghan forces on a high mountain pass near Khost in an attempt to assassinate a former Afghan military commander. U.S. SOF troops came to the aid of the Afghans, and two of the U.S. troops — Paul, an Army master sergeant, and Brad, an Air Force tech sergeant, identified by their first names only for security reasons — were wounded in the fighting.

Campbell — then a staff sergeant with the 159th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), based in Wiesbaden, Germany — was serving as flight medic on the helicopter that was assigned to evacuate Paul and Brad.

When the helicopter got to the scene, crewmembers realized that they would not be able to land on the ridge. They would have to use a hoist.

As Campbell was lowered for the roughly 150-foot descent, his radio was smashed against the side of the aircraft. Now he would have to rely on hand signals to communicate with the soldier controlling the hoist.

Campbell continued his ride down, but the hoist stopped.

“So I’m just dangling there,” said the 30-year-old from Charlotte, N.C. “I’ve got my 9 mil (9 mm pistol). I’ve got my M-4 (carbine). I’m ready to return fire, but it got to a point where I was like, ‘OK, I’m just here. If they want to shoot me down, they’re going to shoot me down.’ At that point, I was like, ‘All right, I’m about to eat the big one on this one.’”

He started to give frantic hand signals to put him on the ground. Campbell finally reached the ground close to the wounded and was met by an Afghan Special Forces soldier. Campbell noticed dust being kicked up near his feet.

“There’s rounds actually coming by at my feet,” he said.

Campbell hit the deck and made his way to Paul, who was shot in the groin and in both legs, and Brad, who was shot in the ankle but was returning fire from the cover of a small rock.

Campbell quickly attended to the critically injured Paul and secured him in a rescue stretcher that was lowered from the helicopter.

Next was Brad. Campbell got him in the stretcher and gave a thumbs-up to the crew chief in the helicopter. Campbell thought he would have time to gather up his gear before riding up with Brad. Campbell turned around, saw the sked was going up and jumped for it.

“It looked like some straight ‘M:I III’ stuff, some ‘Matrix’ stuff,” Campbell said of his leap. “Didn’t think it would take it up so fast.”

The wounded were treated on the way back to Forward Operating Base Salerno. When the helicopter landed, Paul and Brad were taken to the emergency room. Paul had lost four pints of blood into his gut but survived. Brad also made it out alive.

U.S. and Afghan forces were credited with killing 12 insurgents. Another Black Hawk that was involved in the mission had more than 50 bullet holes in it. The pilot of that aircraft was awarded the Silver Star for his actions.

“It was a normal mission to us,” Campbell said. “Next thing you know, we had the whole SF Group coming up to the hospital, wanting to talk to us, congratulate us, thank us — however you want to look at it — for going out there to get them. It was like, ‘That’s our job. That’s what we do.’”

For his actions during the 45-minute mission, Campbell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on Dec. 2 in Wiesbaden.

Hey Randy,

Good hearing from you. The website looks great and we appreciate the additions. We all appreciate how you continue to honor "Our" unit with your efforts.

The Soldiers continue to do great and amazing things here. We are approaching our 500th mission and have now flown about 1800 hours. We continue to make a difference in this country and it shows everyday.

We are starting to hear more and more about the inactivation, but things are not 100% yet. We are hearing AUG 07 right now, but I am sure that could change again. The inactivation will occur in Germany and the new unit will stand up in Fort Drum. I will definitely keep you posted on all of that.

I will track down some good photos for you to add to the collection.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers for the mighty 159th!

DUSTOFF

Rob

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25 Oct 2006

Randy,

Truly sorry for the delay! Just returned from the FOB and I am playing some significant catch up across the board.

I included a shot from our boys down South in Kandahar. One of the better pictures I have seen lately and taken by a Canadian. Sort of highlights the diversity of the team over here. I also included a shot of us returning from FOB Orgun-E the other day, a small post located on a plain that is at 7,500 feet MSL. You get winded just walking to the birds! The village at the base of the ridgeline is fascinating. All of the huts are made from the same pink clay.

Best get running. Once again, I apologize for the delay. We all appreciate the continued support and we covet your prayers. Thanks again.

DUSTOFF

Rob