He carried the wounded, relayed coordinates, shouted orders that kept us from panicking, and never once flinched when the bullets started snapping past his head. A lot of the men who went home to their families after that night survived only because of the choices Burton made when the odds were essentially zero.
As the narrative unfolded, Henderson explained that the driver and Sergeant Burton were a team throughout the entire ordeal. According to his account, several of our successful medical evacuations were only possible because both of us refused to quit long after we should have.
I broke my silence just to add one detail.
When Henderson gave me all the credit for the operation, I leaned into the microphone he held and told him that Burton was the one who kept us sane. I needed the crowd to know that without him, my truck would have been nothing but a target.
Henderson gave a solemn nod.
He told the audience that Burton gave his life to make sure others got out, staying in the heat of the fight until he couldn’t stand anymore. His sacrifice was the only reason the mission hadn’t resulted in a total massacre.
