A Selfless Hero: SGT John Phillip Baca

Sergeant John Phillip Baca served in the Army in a recoilless rifle team. His company was near Quan Loi, Vietnam and settled in for the night when an explosion went off in the distance. They recognized it as one of the tripwires they had set to alert them of enemies in their position. Baca and his platoon responded to the disturbance, and quickly came under heavy fire. Baca was preparing to fire when a friendly wounded soldier ran past, bumping Baca’s weapon off his shoulder. This caused Baca to see a grenade near his best friend and fellow soldier, Art. Baca shouted, alerting his platoon of the danger, and instinctively pushed Art out of the way. He then placed the top of his steel helmet on his stomach and jumped on the grenade. Baca and his helmet absorbed almost all of the concussion and shrapnel, and he lived to make a full recovery.

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