Rob Black (66:00)
Oh, wait, the weather cooled off. They wanted to kill us. It wasn't a hundred. And outside to where they, like, were miserable, too. Like, when it cools down, like, they want to get us, like, and they'll wait. They waited for us. And. And on December 29th, it was. We went to COP Firecracker to support the Marines. We pulled up into their AO and we got this small kill team mission to where we would take over two buildings. We infilled at night, as we always did. Infilled at night. And then did our operation throughout the night. Got everything set up. And I remember I was laying down, and then all of a sudden I. I heard over the radio. Like, we heard the shot. So everyone's up, and we're like, oh, fuck. And you kind of, like, sit there. Cause it was just a single shot, and it's like, okay, like, when's it going to start? Like, like, you know, just all hell breaking loose. I remember I sat up and I'm like, okay, like, let's wait and see, like, how this plays out. Listen to radio traffic and then go from there. I sat up and I forget who was on the radio. They're like, hey, we need black over here now. Like, this is bad. So the way it worked is we had two, we had the two houses, but you had to go outside of the house and turn a corner to get to the other one. So I was in house, let's say A and Dietrich was shot in house B. Well, we would go downstairs and every time we infilled at night, we'd take those like big ass zip ties that they'd give us to like, use his handcuffs if we took any prisoners or anything. We just zip tied the door like completely shut. And at this time, like, we're still not hearing anything, nothing's going on. But they were saying that like one of, one of the guys is hit and we didn't know who it was. It's so like, I remember like cutting, like, I think it was Sergeant Gonzalez or Sergeant Beal was like cutting the zip ties off the door. I'm like, hurry up. Like, oh my gosh, like, get those things off. Like, we need to get to our dude. And we knew it was a right and a right so we needed to get out. I was in the middle because they're like, you get in the middle like, so we can watch like, because you're not, like, you're the medic, like, we need to get you over there. So I got in the middle. Sergeant Gonzalez led. We made a right, made a right. We're pounding on the door like, hey, let us in. And you could hear them cutting their zip ties on their door inside. And it was just this like masonry building, like this concrete, like a concrete building. It had a stairway up and then up again. So it made like a 90 degree turn. When we got to the second floor landing, the one of our guys there, Bago, was just holding a Israeli dressing on his head. And I'll never forget, like, the look he gave me because, like just the whites of his eyes were like, dude, what the. So I remember I, I, I dropped down, I took my off, dropped my bag. The first thing I said is like, where do you get shot from? And they said, that window over there. And there's a window is probably 10ft away. I said, get someone on the window, like, because they're either gonna throw grenades in because they already know we're in here, or, like, at least get someone over there to look like so we don't take more casualties. I drop down. I took the Israeli bandage from Baka. I said, I got it, and I, like, I pulled it back, and it was like. If. If you had to describe, it was just like a human brain. It looked like someone mixed, like, jello and, like, chicken fat. And just, like, the amount of heat that was leaving his body was, like, insane because a lot of heat leaves through your head. So, like, I peel it back and it's just, like, steaming. Like, you just took the pot off of, like, boiling water. And I put the. The dressing bag on his head. I grabbed his hand because he was. He was still shaking. And I said, hey, Dietrich, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand. Because he was still breathing. And, like, he didn't give a response. I said, buddy, if you can. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand, please. Like, we're going to get you out of here. So place the dressing back on. Wrap it up. He's still, like, losing heat. I threw a collar around his neck, and I just remember, I was like, hey, someone give me the litter. Someone threw a litter on him. Then he started to do. When you have, like, severe brain damage, your body starts to get in to what they call, like, decorder kit and disarate posturing. So I'd only read about it in books, like, from, like, the military training. And he started, like, posturing. So I was like, oh, shit. Like, this is bad. We get him on the litter, and as we're carrying him down the stairs, that, like, aggressive turn from upstairs, like, on the landing, we couldn't get all of us to carry him at the same time. So I was like, give him to me. So I grabbed him, and I just started carrying him down the stairs. And I said, let's put him back on the litter when we get outside, carry him downstairs. There's just, like, brain matter like, all over me, just everywhere. Where we put him back on the litter, it's like, hey, I need four guys to tell me, carry him. And this is when, like, Dan was at the end of the road is probably like a quarter mile away. Like, we. We were in the middle of freaking nowhere. I get down, he's posturing. Now he's posturing in. He's, like, shaking. I'm like, dude. He's like, this is. This is horrific. I. I said, dietrich, like, you're good, dude. Like. Like, you're good. Like, we're. We're already outside. Like, we're going to get you out of here, man. And fucking then, like, grenades started popping off, and it was just the fucking machine gun fire. I didn't know where the fuck it was coming from. Like, my only concern was, like, him. So I covered him and I'm just, like, blocking him because I didn't know where shit was coming from. They were like, hey, fucking pop smoke. Like, when I tell you. Like, our leadership over there was fucking top notch. Like, they. They took care of us. Like, they were the most brutal, like, war fighters that you could ever imagine that could make decisions under pressure for the greater good of the platoon and. And us. They knew to pop smoke. They had communications with getting him out of there. And they, like, laid down suppressing fire. Like, it was just so perfectly coordinated that we were able to, like, pick him up. Pick him up. We ran him out of there and got him. Got him off to the aid station. But it was then we had to, like, run back to cop Firecracker and that. Like, we're still in the middle of the city. It's like, dude, what the. Like, we know they're out here. They. We know they're watching us. The streets are empty. Like, you know, some shit's gonna go down when all the kids leave. Like, when the kids are playing outside, it's like, oh, dude, nothing's going to happen now. When all the kids leave the street, you're like, oh, like, what's going to happen? Like, when people start emptying the street? But Lieutenant o' Hare asked me. He's like, do you think he'll be okay? And I said, well, he's never going to be Dietrich again. And they called us. They called us into a meeting. It was in, like, one of the top stories. I caught Firecracker. And they. They let us know that he passed away. And I was like, man, like, I. I just started crying. Like, I didn't know. I didn't know what to do. Like, I felt like I failed him. Like, I. Like, why. Like, why didn't I save him? Like, that was my job. Like, that was all I was over there do was, like, to save lives. And then to compound off of that, it was story best. Like, why didn't I see that ied? Like, why'd I say it quick? Like, I don't know what I do with myself if something happened to you like that. Like, what? Like, this is hell. Why am I here? Like, what am I doing? And you just want to, like, quit and give up. Because they just keep coming for you day after day and then not. But, like, three days later, route clearance mission. You're like. Like, I am going to fucking die over here. And all I was. I remember telling myself, like, thank God. Like, I don't have kids. Or, like, thank God I don't have a fucking wife. Like, my mom will be sad, but, like, dude, like, this is. This is the fucking end. It was brutal. And nothing ever prepares you for that. Like, how do you prepare for that? Like, watch your friends pass away. It's. It's fucked up.
