US soldier killed rescuing prisoners of ISIS

[cuffem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/world/middleeast/us-commandos-iraq-isis.html?_r=0

RIP Sgt.Wheeler,sympathies to the family and loved ones.A true American Hero.

 

[bluesneakers]

A hero and then some.

U.S. Soldier’s Life, Recreated in Army, Ends in Combat

In a thinly populated, economically struggling patch of eastern Oklahoma, Joshua L. Wheeler had a difficult childhood and few options. The Army offered an escape, but it turned into much more. He made a career in uniform, becoming a highly decorated combat veteran in the elite and secretive Delta Force.

...

When Kurdish commandos went on a helicopter raid to rescue about 70 hostages who were about to be executed by Islamic State militants, the plan called for the Americans who accompanied them to offer support, not join in the action, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said on Friday. But then the Kurdish attack on the prison where the hostages were held stalled, and Sergeant Wheeler responded.

“He ran to the sound of the guns,” Mr. Carter said. “Obviously, we’re very saddened that he lost his life,” he said, adding, “I’m immensely proud of this young man.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/24/us/joshua-wheeler-killed-in-isis-raid.html