Posted: 8/14/2008 10:19:12 AM EDT
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There was a thread a few months ago on vids and pics of Courage and Bravery that was very good. I would like to revise it if possible starting with a video that I always belived showed an exstreme act of bravery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nXT8lSnPQ I would make it hot but don't know how. Feel free to do so for me. |
    My friend CHP Officer Earl Scott California Highway Patrol California End of Watch: Friday, February 17, 2006 Biographical Info Age: 36 Tour of Duty: 5 years Badge Number: 16386 Incident Details Cause of Death: Gunfire Date of Incident: Friday, February 17, 2006 Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type Suspect Info: Charged with murder Officer Earl Scott was shot and killed while making a traffic stop on Highway 99 in Stanislaus County at approximately 0440 hours. Officer Scott stopped a vehicle that he had observed speeding on northbound Highway 99, just south of Hammett Avenue. Officer Scott approached the vehicle and obtained the registration card from the driver. As Officer Scott walked back to his patrol car the suspect opened fire, fatally shooting him in the head. A passing motorist, who was also heading north, saw the officer falling to the ground and the suspect's car speeding away. The witness exited the freeway and turned around, returning to the scene where he called authorities on a cell phone. When backup officers arrived they were able to identify the suspect's car by the registration that was still in Officer Scott's hand. The suspect later walked into the Stockton Police headquarters and turned himself in. He was arrested and charged with murder. The suspect has an extensive criminal record, including arrests for robbery and assaulting a police officer. Officer Scott had served with the California Highway Patrol for 5 years. He is survived by his father, stepmother, and sister. His father and two uncles are all retired as sergeants from the California Highway Patrol. One of Officer Scott's cousins currently serves as a sergeant with the agency. |
 His hearing isn’t as keen as it once was, and arthritis in his lower back is chronic. He’s not an old man, just a 38-year-old U.S. Marine who tussled with death and won. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Michael Burghardt of Fountain Valley, Calif., says it took him a long time to recover emotionally from surviving a roadside bomb in Iraq in September 2005. An explosives ordnance disposal expert, Burghardt was 12 inches from the blast. Instead of counting his blessings that the shrapnel studded flat against his body instead of tearing through it, Burghardt was wracked by guilt. The attention generated by the widely circulated photo of him flipping off the triggerman didn’t help. Getting recognition "that I survived when I should have been dead made me feel guilty because I had lost … fellow EOD technicians who … were my friends," he said. Time and counseling helped him realize "I was still here to tell their story." Burghardt, the previous EOD chief at Camp Fuji, Japan, until his reassignment in April, can’t imagine doing anything else, despite three tours in Iraq and the obvious job hazards. It gives him the opportunity to serve his country, save the lives of others and play the most adrenaline-packed chess game of his life, he said. "You’re doing your moves, the bad guy’s doing his moves, and nothing is ever the same," he said. "For people who love a challenge, this is a perfect job." The junior EOD Marines keep him motivated, he said. "If I leave, who are they going to learn from?" he said Ooh Rah - Semper Fi ! |