35 years ago, today—the moment the helmets and flak jackets came off. This photo captures my MI team’s shift from combat to reflection after six weeks of the Air and Ground War phases of Desert Storm. We were beyond exhaustion. The story of how he and his assistant gunner earned their Bronze Stars will be included in the comments below.
by Expedition37
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This photo captures the exact moment the war ended for us- we’d just gotten the call that the ceasefire was in effect. For the first time since the Ground War began, we took off our helmets, flak jackets, load-bearing gear, and gas masks. You can see in the background that some soldiers aren’t even carrying their weapons. We knew the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division had been broken, and the threat of organized resistance was gone.
There were no cheers, or signs of victory. We were so exhausted we didn’t care about victory; we only knew that we had survived.
The paratrooper in the foreground was a member of my MI collection team from the 313^(th) MI Battalion/ 82^(nd) Airborne Division. He and his assistant gunner were the only two enlisted soldiers in the 313^(th) MI to receive the Bronze Star.
What you see is the toll the war took on him. It wasn’t a “100-hour war” for our team, it had been six weeks of 24/7 intelligence collection and frequent contact with Iraqi forces during the Air and Ground war phase of Desert Storm.
**The night that led to two Bronze Stars:**
The official narrative shown on CNN was about smart bombs, stealth fighters, and starving Iraqi soldiers. But the reality on the ground was different. They misrepresented that reality to maintain strong support from the American public for the duration of the war.
**This was the reality.**
One night during the Air War phase of Desert Storm, three members of my team were tasked with identifying Iraqi infiltration routes using ground surveillance radars from an observation post on an isolated hilltop. It was pitch black, and contrary to what was being reported on CNN, we had very few sets of night‑vision goggles. A platoon of infantry was attached to the team to provide security while they worked.
In the darkness, the team suddenly realized they weren’t alone- an Iraqi force was also setting up an observation post on the same hill. A close‑range firefight erupted instantly. The machine gunner and his assistant took cover under their truck, engaging the enemy with rifle fire and bursts from the M‑60.
In the confusion, one member of the team became separated and was pinned down by the volume of fire being exchanged between U.S. and Iraqi forces.
The firefight was intense, and the size of the Iraqi force was unknown, so the infantry commander ordered his platoon and the MI team to break contact and leave the hill. **The gunner and his assistant refused the order because it would leave a man behind in the hands of the enemy**, but the infantry pulled off the hill without them.
The pair held their ground alone until the third teammate made it back, then fought their way off the hill. The recovered teammate drove the truck while the gunner and his assistant continued firing from the bed of the truck. When the M‑60 ran out of ammunition, the gunner switched to his M9 pistol to continue the fight.
No man left behind. That’s not just a slogan- it’s what you fight for.
**That’s the war CNN didn’t show you.**