Source: By Jordan Schwartz, USGA
On Sept. 27, 2009, Sgt. Aaron Silton was three months into his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was shot in the face.
“When I got hit, I was straddling a little irrigation ditch and my feet got caught in the mud,” said Silton, who became a fifth-generation soldier in 2003. “There were thorns all over the place, hornets all over the place. I touched my face and my hand was completely covered in blood.”
As three fellow soldiers extracted Silton, he dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum, but was still able to run to the back of the line. The bullet entered Silton’s jaw, pierced his tongue and exited out the neck. Choking on blood, he was immediately administered a tracheotomy before being medevaced to Kandahar, where he suffered a massive stroke during surgery.